Kitsune
by Psychedelic Daydream
Summary: James was just an average boy, until he met Hunter. Suddenly he is sucked into a world he never thought could exsist, and apparently, only he can save all of them. Of course, he has to natrully save them from destruction by a giant, flame earing, ice spewing, pus ozing, immortal shadow moster. Whats a guy to do?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey you guys! New story! Hope you enjoy it! Oh, and before you start, this story is in the category of Warriors because I am including different Clans, but the similarities end there.**

I sighed as I looked out the window, staring at the rain. It had been raining for about 3 days straight, and it was still going strong.

Normally, I love the rain, but today it just meant that my swim meet was canceled. I ran a hand threw my brown hair and sighed again. "James, come here for a moment!" I heard my mom call up to me. "Coming!" I looked out the window once more, but what I saw shocked me.

A girl. Just standing there. Standing in the rain and letting it pound down on her. She turned her head in my direction, almost as if she had been waiting for me. When she turned her head fully, I gasped. I could see 2 shining silver eyes, even through the torrents downpour. She turned away and walked behind a tree. I expected her to come around the other side, but she never did. It was almost like she had never been there.

I grabbed my gray raincoat and umbrella, ran downstairs, called to my mom, "I'm going outside, I'll help you when I get back!" and ran out the door. I went to the spot where I saw the girl last. I walked around he tree a couple of times before I heard a voice behind me. " So, I take it you can see me." I spun around and was met with two silver eyes.

She had black hair in a ponytail and she had on a black shirt that was just above her belly button along with gray boot cut jeans, but no shoes. The strangest thing of all, and I almost did I double take when I saw this, was the fact that perched on her head were two flickering gray fox ears and waving behind her were nine tails.

I thought back to a legend my grandpa used to tell me, about a girl with nine tails. What did he call her…..? Oh, a 'Kitsune', the Japanese word for fox.

"Yes, I can see you. What dose that mean?" I asked the silver-eyed girl. She broke out into a mischievous grin, and she got a glint in her eye. "It means, you have to come with me." And with that, she grabbed my arm and ran into the night.

She ran to a cliff wall, since we were close to a mountain. No one dared close to the mountain because it was notorious for rock slides, but the girl- I still didn't know her name- ran up to it fearlessly. When we got to a place with a big smooth rock in front, we stopped. I heard a rumble and knew a rockslide was coming our way.

"Come on! We have to get out of here! We will be crushed!" I shouted as I saw the first bolder appear above us. "Hold on!" The girl pressed her hand to the rock, and it flashed green. Soon a keypad appeared and I had to stare. I looked up and the rocks were almost upon us. "Hurry up!" I yelled, looking from the rocks to the girl and back again.

"Almost there, almost there…." She typed in a few more things, and the rockslide apart, much to my amazement. But it was going to slow. To slow! As soon as the rocks almost crushed us, she pulled me into a dank passage, and started to laugh!

I asked, "Why are you laughing? We could have been killed!" She stopped laughing, and turned to grin at me. "I love using that entrance." I stared at her. "You mean… There were other ways to get in _besides _using the mountain side?"

She nodded smartly. "Yep. And plenty of them too."

I stared at her before getting up, slowly walking over to her, bringing my hands up, and in a flash, I had my hands around her neck, wildly shaking her back and forth.

"IF THERE WERE MORE ENTENCES, WHY ON GODS GREEN EARTH WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO ALMOST GET US KILLED?" I screamed. I stopped shaking her to see that her eyes were swirls. She answered, "Because it was more fun…" Before her soul came out her mouth. (A/N Anime reference.) I grabbed her soul and shoved it back in her mouth. (A/N 10 points if you can guess were this came from.)

"Now, where are we, anyway?" I asked her, pulling the girl to her feet. "And," I added as a second thought. "What's your name?" She dusted herself off and said, "I am Hunter, and welcome to The Clans Under the Mountain."

**Thank you for reading this! I hope you liked it, and tell me what you think in your reviews!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again, my lovely readers! To answer your question, Raewyn, yes, I do realize that Warriors is a cat fandom. **

**The truth is, I had this idea in my head for a really long time, and so I put it down on paper. Then I though, I should put this on Fanfiction! And that was when I realized I had no idea what fandom to put it in.-.-" So, I went back, made a few changes, and now, it's in the Warrior fandom! Ta-da!**

**So, yes, I do know that, so don't flame me on it, and even though you didn't flame, I'm telling all of you guys! Thanks, and enjoy!**

**Oh, and Guest got the 10 point thing correct. It was from Soul Eater.**

**IMPORTANT MESSAGE AT BOTTOM OF PAGE IN AUTHERS NOTE! READ OR DIE! JUST KIDDING! OR AM I?**

I didn't know what to make of the strange boy who stood in front of me. He looked….. Normal. But our Clan leader had said that the boy who can see us would save us. Of course, he had said it in a much more cryptic way, and we spent almost 6 months trying to figure out what he meant. I'm going to have to talk to him about toning down on the crypticisam. Yes, I made up a word. Deal with it.

Anyway, back to the problem at hand, I introduced myself and told him where we were and all that jazz. He still looked confuzzled, so I grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet and down the tunnel. The long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, long, LONG tunnel. Yea… It's long.

We entered the rotunda, which is kinda like a large circular room in the middle of everything. There were four more tunnels, each leading to a different room. Over each tunnel, there were names. Nightclan, Fireclan, Soulclan, and Spiritclan. I pulled him over to Soulclan and lead him inside the tunnel. There were torches that burned with a purple light, casting an eerie glow. We found the end of the tunnel and saw five more paths. These had an element over them. Water, Wind, Balance, Dark Earth, and Solar System.

I yelled loudly in the Balance tunnel, "Hey! Shade, and if you're in there, Sky! Come here! I have amazing news!" There was a rushing of wind and a rustle of feathers. Two girls appeared. One of them had brown and white hawk wings, so I knew Sky was there.

"What! What! Tell me!" The other said excitedly. I laughed at her. "Always want to know first, isn't that right, Shade?" I teased.

Shade had black hair pulled into two spiky pigtails, and her pointed bangs swept over one eye. She had on a gray sweatshirt that went to mid-drift and a pair of light wash kakis. She also had black wolf ears on her head, with a black tail swishing behind her.

I felt James go ridged behind me and almost let out a small smirk at his reaction. You see, Shade had black eyes. When I say black, I mean black. Her whole eye was pitch black with small silver speckles, like stars, even though I knew better. They were _obviously_ souls.

Shade is a balance type, and that means she was entrusted with the responsibility of collecting souls to make sure that death doesn't choke out life or vise versa. Every soul she grabs will then make a small silver sparkle in her eyes. Eventually, she will have silver eyes instead of black.

She has a short temper and would be the first to attack. Shade is my best friend, and a loyal companion, most likely a side affect of being half-wolf. She is a tricky one and always out smarts her enemies.

Sky stretched her wings above her head and raised her arms out to her sides. "I think I'm going to go read the rule book again, just to make sure I'm not missing anything." Shade groaned. "You've already memorized it from cover to cover!"

Sky shot her a glare. "No I haven't." "QUICK! What's rule 385?" Shade yelled, pointing her finger at Sky. Sky snapped into some sort of trance, where she stood up rigid and her eyes grew glassy. "Rule number 385, section 65, bottom of page 90, line 235. One must always remember to use the brush exactly 10 times on each side of head!" She snapped out of her trance and realized what she said. "That proves NOTHING!"

Sky had light brown hair and had on a white button up shirt with a tie on the front, along with a plaid skirt that stopped about and inch above the knee with shiny black shoes. Her brown and white wings could reach about 2 inches past her fingers.

She was a wind type, so she was in charge of the weather, to make sure that it doesn't get out of control. One time, she forgot to check the rainfall amount, and Arizona was flooded, and the Amazon almost ran dry.

Sky is a stiff who always go by the book. She is pretty smart, and she is also our leader.

Before I go any farther, I'm going to explain the leadership stuff.

Each Clan has five different elements. Ours are Wind, Water, Balance, Dark Earth, and Solar System. Within these elements, a team in chosen, with a member from each element. Each team elects a team leader, a sniper, a spy, a warrior, and a mechanic/smart guy. Sky is leader, Shade is the warrior, I'm the sniper, my friend Aidan is the spy, mostly due to his midget size, and my other friend, Vector, is the mechanic, due to his large knowledge of, well, everything.

Anyway, Shade and I are always trying to get her to lighten up, but we still haven't succeeded.

I whipped out one of my knives that I had hidden in my sleeves and chucked it at the wall to my right, where a short boy was walking out of the Water tunnel. He screamed and turned pale and ended up standing on one foot with his arms one the other side on him, and his eyes bugged out. He spun around and raised his fists. Her glared at me and yelled, "What the crap do you think your doing?! Are you TRYING to kill me?"

I just stared at the spot my knife had landed and felt a grin creep across my face. "Got it!" I announced proudly. "What? What did you get?" He asked me. "That fly that was buzzing around my head and annoying me."

He simply face palmed.

"Ooh! I almost forgot! James!" I turned to the boy, only to see him almost half way down the tunnel, and still going strong. "Oi! Where are you going?" Shade screamed. "You all are crazy! I'm going home! Back to where things make since and the only things I have to worry about are swimming and helping my mom out with turning on the computer!" He yelled back at us, a huge dust cloud coming out from behind him.

"Adian! Sic 'em!" I yelled, running after him as well.

The boy jumped to attention. "Sir, yes, sir!" He yelled, saluting. "Hey! I give the orders around here!" Sky yelled. "Adian! Sic 'em!" Shade sweat dropped and ran after us.

With Adian being the fastest, due to him being part cow, yes you head me right. Part cow. Anyway, with him being the fastest, he caught up to James first and rammed into his side, knocking James over.

"Leave me alone, you crazy people! What do you want with me, anyway?" He shouted, struggling against Shade, who had grabbed him in a headlock.

Another person emerged from the shadows. "You, boy, are the one who will save us all."

**How was it? Tell me in your amazing reviews. Also, I would like to apologies about the lake of update on my other stories. They are all going on temporary hiatus, so I can focus on this story and hopefully finish it. After this one, I will be going to Shape Shifters to finish that one, and so on and so forth.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, sorry I haven't updated lately. I've been busy with swim and lazing around! I've had so much free time, that I just don't know what to do with myself!**

**Hunter- What an amazing excuse. Never heard that one before.**

**Oh, shut up!**

**James- No, no. She has a point there. That is one of the most commonly used excuse.**

**Shade- Just start the chapter! **

**Okey Dokiy!**

**All- REVIEW!**

What?! I'm supposed to do WHAT!? I barely even know these psychos! Why on earth would they expect me to save them! For god sake, one of them is a Kitsune, another had hawk wings, the third has wolf ears and tail, and the forth had frickin' _cow _ears and tail! _COW! _Why on gods green earth is it a cow of all things?

I thought that those thought might hurt their feeling, so I voiced my opinion. "Heck no! You guys are psychopaths! You had frickin' animal ears and tails! Multiple tails! What next? You all control an element to something?" I yelled. "How'd he know?!" The cow guy whispered in shock to the wolf girl with the freaky eyes, Shade, or something. "You've _**got **_to be kidding me! That was a joke! Don't tell me you really do control elements?"

"Well, sure," Hunter stepped up. "Why do you think there were different elements over the tunnels? For fun? We all control a different element, and that elements tunnel is like our home. I control Dark Earth, which is basically darkness and earth, and my job is to bring night, and make earthquakes. Sometimes I go a little bit overbroad. Shade here controls balance, so she has the job of collecting souls, and each silver light in her eyes is a soul, Sky controls wind, air, weather, what ever you want to call it. Her job is to make sure the deserts don't flood, and the rain forests don't enter a giant drought, like four years ago. Adian here controls water. All her does is make tropical storms and tsunamis."

"Oh, and a word to the wise," Shade commented, "Don't ever let Hunter near large weapons of any sort. The last time we did that, she almost blew up Japan." Hunter glared at Shade. "I told you, that was an accident! I was aiming for a big sinking ship of the cost that was carrying food and supplies!" She pouted. "Is that really any better?" The man is the shadows yelled, drawing attention to himself.

"Vector, come out of the tunnels! Come out, come out, were ever you are~" A sing song voice came down the tunnel.

"Oh, crud. She found me! RUUUNNN!" A boy with shaggy black hair and wide panicked green eyes was the guy in the shadows. He came running out in a hurry. He had on a pair of oil covered denim jeans and a white shirt that was also covered in oil and smelled of grease. He had goggles on his head along with black and gold wolf ears and tail.

Hunter grabbed him by the collar and successfully halted his running.

"Ok. Introductions." She pointed to cow dude. "Adian, and my little bro." "Only by 4 months, 10 days, 14 hours, 7 minuets, and 90 seconds!" Adian exclaimed. Hunter just rolled her eyes. "He's the spy on our team, due to his incredibly small size." Adian looked about ready to murder her. She pointed to wing lady. "That is Sky, a complete stiff and our leader. She memorized the rule book out of her own free will!" She hooked an arm around freaky eyes. "This here is Shade, and the only one who understands my crazy ways, and sometimes lets me have accesses to the heavy duty weaponry."

"SHE DOES _WHAT_!?" Sky cried, glaring at Shade. "Is that the reason Japan almost blew up?" "Eh he he… Maybe?" Shade looked rather scared for her life. "I'm just gonna go over there…" And she took off. We stared at the place she had run off to, them continued on like nothing had happened.

"Anyway, Shade is also our warrior, because she's the strongest out of al of us. The smelly, oil coved, panicked guy over here is Vector. He controls Solar System, which means that he knows almost everything about anything, and he can read minds. It's really rather creepy if you ask me. He's our machine junky. He makes all our weapons, and at the same time, is Sky's older brother by about a month. I'm Hunter, as you already know, and I have many, many problems. Like my strange fascination with weapons, my habit of firing off my mouth at enemies without thinking ahead, the fact that I absolutely _hate _deep ocean, which is actually quite ironic, considering the fact that my brother controls water. I'm the team sniper."

"Yea, yea, that's great and all, but, why are you on teams, and what do I have to do with any of this?" I asked, gritting my teeth, shutting my eyes, and rubbing my temples.

"Yea, we are on teams, and this is why." Sky went on the say how the teams were formed. (A/N You already know this, so I'll save you the boring details.) "…And that's how a team is formed and why we are on one." She finished, but by that time, most everybody had dozed off, and those who hadn't were about to.

"Anyway… You, sir, are going to reunite the Clans and get rid of Ibles, the monster threating our very existence, and yours too."

**OH, cliffy! I'm so evil!**

**Hunter- (With large bump on head.) Yes. Yes you are.**

**REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Kitsune is **_**back, **_**baby! Sorry for the delay, but its here now, and the words are OVER 9,000! Or not. Oh, well. BE HAPPY!**

**Sky- Woo hoo?**

**I SAID, BE HAPPY!**

**Sky- GAH! I'm happy, I'm happy!**

**Good. Review!**

I shivered with excitement when I walked back to the group, eyeing Sky, and trying to avoid her wrath. James finally knew! Or, well, understood better. Whatever.

I saw James's eyes widen. He looked a Hunter, who just nodded. "Freaky eyes, is she telling the truth?" He whispered to me. I felt my eye twitch at the nickname. "First, I have a name," I snarled. "Second, yes, she is telling the truth." Well, most of it. Sky just didn't mention that he would save us from an immortal, god-forsaken monster. Oh, well. James would figure it out sooner or later.

It doesn't matter anyway. Or does it…? Oh, well.

We walked back to the tunnels, keeping a carful eye on James. Who knows when he would try to make a brake for it. Adian was at the back, next to Vector, with Hunter and me on either side. Sky was, obviously, leading us.

I felt a small pebble hit the side of my head, and I looked over to see Hunter tossing another pebble us and down. She nodded her head slightly to Sky, who was walking as stiff as a bored. I nodded and snickered a little.

Hunter lined up the rock to Sky's head, and flicked it, immediately going straight faced, walking with her hands at her side, and keeping a close eyes on James. That was a cool thing about Hunter. She could lie right threw her teeth, and nobody would ever know it, and she could make any smile completely disappear in the span of about a half a second.

Sky whipped around on her heel when she felt the rock hit her head. "Alright, who threw that?" She demanded.

We looked at her strangely. "Threw what?" Adian asked. "That rock!" "What rock?" "The rock that someone threw!" "Nobody threw a rock." "Oh, never mind." With that, she wheeled around and started marching again. Hunter and I started to snicker quietly.

***Time Skip***

We were standing in a big room with four entrances and one exit. There was a large stage on one side and a screen on the other. There were four chairs on the stage.

One was silver, edged in black, and the back was 10 tails of different types, made of silver metal.

The next one over was glowing a soft blue; veins of purple winding threw it. Its armrests were large blue pearls.

After that chair was a large red throne, the back of it like one gigantic dancing flame. In the light it looked as though it was actually on fire.

The final throne was completely black, with silver speckles on it, twinkling like stars. The back was a big white moon.

James stood in the middle of the carpeted room, his moth hanging open, with his eyes bug eyed. The rest of us hung back, until Hunter walked up to James and shut his mouth. "You're gonna catch flies, idiot." She teased him. He just 'hrumph'ed and turned away, crossing his arms.

"So," Vector walked up, clapping his hands together. "This is the meeting room. Each chair is the throne of the leaders of the Clans. The silver one is Time's. She's Spiritclan's leader. The glowing one belongs to Anko. She is Soulclan's leader. The red throne belongs to the world's number one douchbag, Flame, Fireclan's number one idiot. The last one, that black one, is Night's. She is Nightclan's leader.

Every month, on the 6th, everybody from every clan gathers here, in a night of peace, to hear on the other clan's status, and what has happened. Here, we announce new teams, new babies, and new people." He finished. "What do ya think?"

"What do I think? _What do I think?_" James started to yell. "I think that this place is totally… AMAZING!" I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in. Nobody had ever disrespected the room, and I really didn't want to know what happened to those who did.

Adian laughed, and soon Hunter and Vector joined him. They all ended up hanging onto the walls, trying to stay upright. I don't think they really know _why _they were laughing so hard, but they just were.

I rolled my eyes at them, then smiled slightly myself. They were weirdoes, that's for sure, but they were still my friends.

James turned around to face the room again. He looked at the handcrafted tunnels, and did something very strange. He went into Mega-Geek Mode.

"OH MY GOD! Look at the fine craftsmanship that went into cutting each one of these bricks! The design is flawless, and the tunnel is so strong! This is amazing! I need my notebook and pencil! I need to make notes!" He yelled, running over to the tunnels and inspecting every single inch of the hole in the wall. He the pulled out a small, brown, leather notebook, filled with sticky notes and papers sticking out every which way, and opened it to a clean page. He whipped out a pencil and started to wright madly.

We stared at him, then blinked once.

Adian's eye twitched, and he slapped a hand on his face, before falling flat on his back from the force of which he slapped himself.

Hunter started laughing loudly, putting a hand on her face, and when she removed it she had on a slightly creepy smile. "Looks like I've found his weakness." She whispered.

Vector had anime tears running down his face, both hands clenched in front of him. "A boy and his love for architecture! How beautiful!" He cried, wiping his tears with a dirty towel he pulled out of the belt he wore, before looking strangely at the rag, and screaming, "This is what I used to fix the toilet! GHAAA!"

Sky looking around, then whipped out the rulebook, and scanned it to make sure we weren't breaking any rules. Once she realized that we weren't, she began reading it for fun.

I laughed at Vector's dilemma, then looked strangely at James, who was still scribbling away, paying absolutely no attention to the his escorts, which was now a cow boy laying on the floor (Adian), a Kitsune with a scary look (Hunter), a wolf guy running around screaming bloody murder (Vector), a wolf girl, laughing at her friends (The wonderfully amazing ME!~), and a bird girl who was reading the rulebook over and over again (Stick-in-the-mud Sky.).

James finally finished, snapped his notebook shut, and turned to us. "What are you guys doing?" He stared at us strangely.

We simply face palmed at his complete stupidity.

"What?"

~^.^~

I was walking down to my bedroom, after a long day of showing James around, when I ran into a major annoyance, which had long blond hair with pink streaks, white bunny ears, light blue eyes, a high pitched voice, a ridicules amount of make-up, and a weird obsession with Vector.

"Hi, Shade. Have you seen Vector, idiot." She looked at me in unhidden annoyance. I growled slightly. I felt my ears flatten in anger, and I snarled, showing my rather large canines. "You just missed him, Missy. Or should I say, Prissy." I growled.

"Careful, Shade. Your 'Hunter' is showing." Missy smirked, referring to the time Hunter made up the nickname for her.

"… How is that an insult?" I stared at her.

She hesitated for a second. "I have absolutely no idea." She said finally.

Then she walked off, hitting my shoulder and flicking her hair in my eye.

"Watch yourself, Shade. We wouldn't want something happening to your friends, now would we?" And with that, she turned the corner, leaving her words hanging in the air, and in my mind.

**And, scene. Thanks for reading!**

**Hunter- Now review! Or I'll kill you!**

**Sky- Or something less drastic.**

**Do what the creepy Kitsune says and Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Gah! I feel horrible about leaving you for such a long time! Please forgive me! But, I'm back now! So, you should be glad, and review!**

**Shade- Wonderful. And how do you plane to torcher us today?**

**Hunter- Perhaps it be by pitting us against a ridiculously strong enemy, that has laser beams and supernatural powers, and could kill us with one glance, then have James revile a power that has not been seen in over one thousand years, and could put everyone in mortal peril, and then have him do some random thing for the good of everyone?**

**Oh, ye of little faith. It's nothing like that. Because that is **_**so **_**obvious!**

**Vector- That's exactly what you were going to do, wasn't it?**

**What? Pshh. No. What are you talking about?**

**Adian- *Sigh* Never mind. Just start the chapter.**

**Good idea!**

I walked back down the hall, to the exit with Vector. I was on my way back to my home. My mom was most likely worried about me, and I hated to make her worry.

Vector walked a little bit ahead of me, fiddling with some sort of small contraption. He suddenly shouted in triumph, and launched a mini silver dragon into the air. The wings started to flap and the little dragon shot ice partials into the air.

The dragon itself was about as big as my palm; with claws as sharp as needles on each of it four paws. Its teeth we jagged and it wings were like a bats. It swooped low, as silent as an owl, and laded on Vector's shoulder, snuggling its little head into his neck. He laughed, and invited it to his palm. The silver dragon hopped down, and Vector pressed a button behind its head. The dragon collapsed in on itself, and turned into a cube, witch Vector then stored in his pocket.

I gaped at him in astonishment. How on earth could anyone build something that complex in such a little amount of time?

I guess I must have looked pretty stupid, because Vector started to laugh at me. Then, as if reading my mind, he said, "That was my girl, Blizzard. I've been working on her for about 6 months. She is almost done. I just have to install a niro mechanic brain, and the programing will do blah, blah, blah…" It was like Vector had entered his own little world of mechanicness, and I simple stared at him, uncomprehending. He eventually stopped, seeing my look of complete and utter confutation.

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, sweat dropping. "Sorry about that. Shade keeps reminding me that not everybody can understand me when I go into 'Mega Geek Mode', as she puts it so eloquently." He apologized. He turned around and tapped the air in front of him. A teal keyboard, not unlike the one that had appeared on the rock when he met Hunter, materialized before them.

Vector started to type at the speed of light, and soon, the outline of a door cut through the air.

The door solidified and soon I was staring at a large black door, with engravings of varicose animals on it. The handles were silver wolf tails, and Vector grabbed them and gave a large heave. The door creaked open slowly, and I walked out into the rain, and in front of my house.

"See you soon!" Vector called. I turned around to say bye, but the door was gone, like it had never existed in the first place. Then Vector pooped out of nowhere, and I let out a _very _manly shriek of surprise. Vector took a picture, and said, "If you want to come back, go to that old well in your back yard. Jump down it, and you will end up here. Arui va!" And he disappeared again.

I face palmed and walked back my house. "I'm back!" I called. "Really? You were only gone for about a minuet. Oh, and one of your friends from school came over." My mom called.

'Only a minuet? I'm pretty sure I was gone for almost 5 hours…' I mused. I walked into the living room and almost had a heart attack. There, sitting by the table, with a chicken leg hanging out of her mouth, and a bowl of rice in her hand, was Hunter.

I stared at her, and she stared right back.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" I yelled at her. "Eating a delicious meal?" She answered, with the air of a question. I realized that she had on a beanie, hiding her ears from view, and she had tucked her tails in her pants. I looked across the table to the person sitting on the other side. And there, sitting in all her freaky-eyed glory, was Shade.

This time, I'm pretty sure I did have a heart attack.

**The end! **

**Hunter- Until next time.**

**Vector- *****looking at a camera and snickering*******

**Hunter- What's so funny?**

**Vector- James's face when I popped up next to him in the chapter.**

**Hunter- *Looks at the camera* That, right there, is comedy at its finest! Put it on the social media!**

**Bye! Reviews help James recover his dignity! Actually, no, they don't, but they help build up my ego~**

**All- SO, REVIW!**

**Hunter- So we can tare down Chaos's ego!**

**Hey!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys. How are you?**

**Hunter- You don't sound very good.**

**I'm soooo tired. I haven't gotten any good sleep for almost a week! Maybe about 4-5 hours. I can normally run on that, but now, it's taking its toll.**

**Sky- So why are you writing instead of resting?**

**Because I need to write! Other wise, I'll die!**

**Sky- Oh.**

**Hunter- Anyway, enough with the pity party. Lets start the chapter!**

**Right! Enjoy and REVIEW!**

I stared at James, chicken hanging out of my mouth. I didn't know why he was so shocked. I mean, we _are _friends, right? Friends come over to friend's homes uninvited to dump their crap on them all the time! Right? Right.

Anyway, he saw Shade, who forgot to put on her contacts, and looked like he was having a seizer. I guess we should have told him we were coming over? Nah. He's fine.

"Sooo, what are you doing exactly?" Shade broke the silence, looking at the twitching James confusedly.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Just wondering what the fricken hell you are doing in my house." James's eye twitched. I finished my chicken and started on the rice. My god, I love rice.

"Well, we are here to give you some news," I told him, my mouth full. I swallowed and continued. "It has to do with you-know-what." I watched his face go from confusion, to realization, to horror, and finally to the pain of the facts.

"Wait. What are we talking about?"

I face-palmed. Stupid man-child. "The monster you are supposed to defeat! Ibles! Idiot!" Shade yelled at him, voicing my opinions.

"Oh yeah…" He said thoughtfully. "You know, I've been thinking, and I realized that I want absolutely nothing to do with you phycos."

"Well, too bad! Because it isn't your choice anymore! You are going to do this whether you like it or not." I announced cheerfully.

James looked about ready to cry. Then he thought of something.

"Wait. If the boy who is supposed to save you guys is the only one who can see you, how can my mother see you people? You know, I'm not even sure if you can be classified as human beings. And speaking of, where is my mom?" James asked.

Before I could answer, his mom walked in with a tray of cookies.

"Speak of the devil, and she doth appear." I muttered under my breath, so that only Shade could hear. She snickered quietly. I stood up and took the plate from her. She smiled and walked out.

"She can't see us. She just _thinks _she can. I had Shade here cast a spell so that your mom thinks that there are two of your classmates in her house. She doesn't realize that we are here. If fact, in her mind, we don't exist!" I explained.

"I don't get it."

"Ok, in simpler terms, Shade cast an illusion."

"But, why? If you can't be seen or heard by anyone but me, why cast an illusion?"

"Because you would look pretty strange talking to a room with no one in it. And we haven't done this before and wanted to try it out. It sounded fun!"

"From my personal experience, we have much different definitions on the word _fun._ What I think is fun: Going swimming, seeing stone monuments, and _not _doing things that could get us killed. What you guys think is fun: Blowing up Japan, nearly getting crushed by a boulder, and doing everything possible to get us killed. Methods differ somewhat." James sweat dropped.

Shade and I high fived. "We have made a lasting first impression! I'm so happy." Shade wept, brushing away fake tears. I cried anime tears of joy. James looked at us strangely. "How are you _proud _of that!? CRAZY PEOPLE!" He shouted, pointing an accusing finger at us.

I merely swept aside his finger. "You know, it's rude to point." I muttered, feeling insulted.

James rolled his eyes. "What are you doing here, anyway?" He crossed his arms, trying and failing to look cool.

I stood up and brushed off my pants. "We are here on order of our leader, Anko. She wants you to join our team. She said, and I quote, 'Get James to join our team, or I will shove a python up your ass and out your mouth.' " I shuddered, remembering the look in her eye when she said that.

"What? But what would I do? You already have everyone you need. And wouldn't this cause a big upset?" James questioned. This time, Shade stood up. "You would be the diplomat. Just in case we need it. Hunter and I tend to think more with our weaponry than out heads, Aiden… No. Just… no. Vector has social anxiety, and Sky had deemed herself too important to be dealing with this herself. And we may need you to reason with the clans. Nightclan and Spiritclan have been on our side, but Fireclan has never really liked us, and would use this to pin us down as traitors. We need _you _to keep Nightclan and Spiritclan on our side. You will speak to the teams of the clans, and hopefully get on their good side." She took a deep breath, then let it out.

"One more thing. Watch out for Missy. She may be in our clan, but she HATES us. She will try to exploit you as being weak, and she will be watching. _Don't give her any ground._ We're counting on you." Hunter patted James on the back.

"No pressure, or anything."

**Done! This one was late. I know, and I am very sorry!**

**Hunter- Don't stop reviewing, thought!**

**BYEEE!**


	7. Writers block

**Hello, loyal readers! Please don't hate me for this, but I have a major writers block! Please help me!**

**Hunter- *Looks out window* You know, there are people outside with guns and pitchforks. They don't look too friendly.**

**GHA! I said I was sorry!**

**Sky- You should really read the rulebook on apologizing. *Whips out rulebook about rulebooks. ***

**Everyone other than Sky- *Blank stares***

**I think I'll pass…..**

**Hunter- Yea… Anyway, back to the problem at hand, these people demand another chapter.**

**And I will post another chapter, as soon as I get my creative juices flowing! In other words, I need ideas.**

**All- SO REVIEW!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Yo! Yes, this story shall continue! I finally got my creative juices flowing~**

**Well, here we goooo!**

I wandered around the halls of our awesome base. Shade and I had visited James and told him the news. Personally, I think he took it rather well~

Well, I mean, after he destroyed his table, screamed his head off, yelled a colorful string of words, some of which I had never even heard, and kicked us out.

Yep, he took it pretty well!

As I said before, I was walking around the halls when I saw a very strange sight.

Missy was attempting to sing. She was failing. Badly. Like, make-your-ears-bleed-as-you-wither-on-the-ground-screaming-in-agony-while-your-best-friend-busts-a-lung-laughing-at-you kind of bad. No joke.

As I watched, I saw little skeletons of animals pop out of the ground. Like daisies! (A/N 10 points and a computer cookie if you can guess what movie that came from~) I hid behind the tunnel wall and watched her whisper something to them.

You know, I'm not really surprised that _skeletons _came a-callen' when she started to sing. I mean, she has the most horrible singing voice that I have ever heard in my life! But, anyway, I digress.

So, as I sat there, thinking about chocolate and what it would be like to have chocolate glazed grapes, and why vanilla was so disgusting, Adian snuck up behind me and asked what I was doing, sitting here muttering to myself and looking like a lunatic.

I punched him. Oops.

"OW! What the heck was that for?! Don't tell me your still angry about that time I dyed your hair pink!" He clutched his nose.

I looked at him funny. "What are you talking about? Wait… YOU'RE the squirt that dyed my hair pink?!" I roared, fire blazing in my eyes, forgetting about Missy and her weird skeleton things.

He blanched and smiled nervously. "What? Pshh! I don't know what you're talking about~" He said, whistling, sweat beading his face.

"Huh? Oh, ok!" I replied cheerfully, dropping my fist and turning back to the tunnel.

'_She let go of it so quickly? Thank god!' _Adian thought, placing a hand over his chest and blowing out a breath of relief. '_I can live another day!' _

"Anyway, what _are _you doing? You look like some sort of creeper." He commented, looking around the corner with her. He saw nothing.

Adian pulled his head back and looked strangely at me. "Are you _sure _you're ok?" I looked back at his and rolled my eyes. "Duh! It's not like I'm insane or anything. I just saw Missy singing and a bunch of little skeletons pop up from the ground. Like daises!"

"Yep, I'm taking you to the doctor."

"WHAT? NO! ANYTHING BUT THAT!" I screamed shrilly and struggled away from my brother, but he held firm. Curse him and his stupid stubbornness to the underworld!

Adian finally got a good grip and dragged me across the ground and down the tunnel labeled 'Doctor' that appeared sometime during the wait.

Shade and Vector walked in on the scene. They sweat dropped and looked at one another.

"Doctor?" -Shade

"Most likely." -Vector

"Ah." -Shade

"Yep…" -Vector

"So, about that kanata..." -Shade

"No, Shade." -Vector

"Aww…" -Shade

They walked away.

"I hate the doctors…" I grumbled, crossing my arms and puffing out my cheeks in annoyance. "Stupid Adian. Stupid Missy. Stupid skeletons. Stupid everything… Except for chocolate. Chocolate is amazing."

Adian, who was standing next to me sweat dropped and looked away.

And so I fumed for a few more minutes. Then I got board of fuming.

"Adiaaaaan!" I drawled lazily. He turned to me. "What is it?"

"I'm board."

"Sucks for you."

"Entertain me!"

"No."

"Come on!"

"I'm not going to do that."

"I'll pay you~"

"… I really hate you…"

And that was how Adian ended up doing the Macarena in a chicken suit.

I never payed him~

(Next day)

I was in the big room, standing next to James, who we had dragged along against his will, Shade, Vector, and Adian. Sky was up there, talking about us and our success in finding James.

She finally got around to announcing our proposition on getting James to join our team.

All Hades broke lose.

There was a small riot of sorts, with Fireclan against Soulclan, and Nightclan and Spiritclan placing bets. I know I was with Soulclan, but I couldn't help but joining in with the bets.

To be fair, I placed one on Soulclan.

Finally, (I seem to be using that word a lot) Night stood up and shouted at us to shut the frick up. It worked.

She sat down and looked over at Anko, who looked disappointed that the fighting had stopped. "Well, why do you want his on your team?"

"I dunno. He seems interesting."

Cue sweat drops and face palms.

"Great… It's another one of her whack-job plans." I heard someone from Fireclan mutter. My ear twitched and I rested my head on my hand. Sadly, he was right.

"Wait… so, I have no reason to be here? I can go home?" James whispered excitedly. Shade karate chopped him none-to-gently. He rubbed his head and pouted. "Not fair…" He complained.

"Life's not fair, kid."

"I'm not much younger that you!"

"So? You are younger than me, therefore, I have the right to call you kid."

And James lost that argument.

"Anyway, we found him, so we claim rights to him." Anko crossed her arms and turned her head stubbornly.

"You can't claim rights to a person!" Night cried, throwing her hands up in the sir exasperatedly.

Anko's short black hair flew around her face as she twirled around to Night once again. "Well, I just did! So there!"

"Why don't we ask James's opinion?" Time interfered calmly, focusing her golden eyes on the bickering duo.

"Fine," They both huffed childishly, turning away from one another.

Time faced the clans and called, "James, come here."

James walked forward, gulping.

He stood next to Time and faced her, glancing to the crowed, searching for his friends. "What is it?" He asked, shifting on the balls of his feet nervously. "What do you think of all this?"

"Honestly, I just really want to go home. I never asked for any of this prophesy junk, or to be some sort of 'Chosen One,' but I don't really have a chose. If I have to be here, I would rather be with people I know and can kind of trust, rather than people who I know absolutely nothing about. So, I will go along willingly with Anko's plan, _if _and _only if _I can get one more look at those tunnels!" He clasped his hands together, eyes sparkling.

I sweat dropped and turned to my friends. "Am I the only one who saw that coming?" I asked.

They shook their heads, face palming.

I ran a hand through my black hair and turned back to the stage, where James was caught up in his daydream.

Time looked at him strangely before nodding her head slowly. "Riiight. Sure. Why not…" She said slowly.

Anko popped up and clasped her hands in front of her chest. "So we can have him?"

"Well, he agreed, so yea, you can have him." Time conceded. Anko went into a pose not unlike James.

"That went well."

**And that's a wrap! Good job people!**

**Hunter: *****Cracking back***** You got kinda sloppy at the end.**

**Sorry, I just got braces and they hurt a lot. Trust me, you **_**do not **_**want them….**

**Shade &amp; Hunter: HAHA! Sucker!**

**SHUT UP!**

**James: Anyway, hope you enjoyed!**

**Adian: Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello again~~~**

**Hope you enjoy this latest installment of **_**Kitsune**_**!**

I shot up in bed, gasping for breath, tears pricking my eyes. It was _that _dream again. I brought my knees up to my chest and let the tears fall. "It _wasn't _my fault." I whispered softly to myself, but the words felt hollow and broken to my ears.

I stumbled out of my soft bed and into the adjacent bathroom. I placed my hands on the cool tile next to the sink and looked down, letting my black hair fall over my eyes. My cursed eyes. I hate them.

It doesn't matter that Hunter and the others accept me. It doesn't matter that I was born to this element for a reason. These stupid eyes killed them. No. _I _killed them. It didn't matter how many times I tell myself that it wasn't _me _that killed them! It _wasn't! _I knew deep in my heart that _yes, it WAS me that killed them._

I had pushed their deaths to the back of my mind, well, until James came in. He started calling me Freaky Eyes. That gave way to unpleasant memories.

_Hey look! It's the demon!_

_Run away!_

_She'll never fit in! Not with those Freaky Eyes of hers._

_Yea! Stupid freak!_

_Monster!_

"SHUT UP!" I yelled, clutching my ears and feeling more tears slip past my eyelids. "I'm not a monster…" I trailed off. Who was I kidding? Hunter was wrong. I _was_ a monster.

_Ever since I could remember, everything inside of me just wanted to fit in…_

_I was never one for pretenders, and everything I tried to be just wouldn't settle in._

_If I told you what I was, would you turn your back on me? And if I seemed dangerous, would you be scared?_

_I get the feeling just because everything I touch isn't dark enough. That this problem lies in me…_

_I'm only a girl with a candle to guide me. I'm taking a stand to escape what's inside me._

_A monster, a monster. I've turned into a monster. A monster, a monster! And it keeps getting stronger._

_Monster- Imagine Dragons_

I sat in the dark, head in my hands. I didn't deserve such good friends.

Hunter: A strong person. Someone you would look up to. A little childish, but serious and strong when need be. She's hiding something. I'm sure of it. I guess everyone has secrets, but I'm most concerned about this one. It seems to be hurting her more than it should.

Adian: A stupid knucklehead. Spaztic and silly are a few words to describe him. He handles killing better than someone really should. He never has any qualms about death. What is he hiding, and could it somehow connect to Hunter's secret?

Vector: The only one I _know _isn't hiding something dark. Smart and funny. A little out there, but not so far as to never come back down. He is a strange fellow, but a friend none the less.

Sky: A strong leader. Someone who demands respect. She might be a stick in the mud, but I would still follow her to the ends of the earth, as I'm sure everyone else on the team would.

James: I'm not sure what to think of him. He seems daft when it comes to people's emotions and practically everything that _isn't _something to do with building. I'm able to read him like an open book. That might just come back to bite him in the butt one day.

Yea, I didn't deserve them. But it's too late to get rid of them, even James. They burrowed their way into my life, and I have a feeling that they're not going anywhere any time soon.

I stood up on shaky legs and dragged myself into bed once again. I lay down and prayed for a dreamless rest-of-the-night. The gods must have been listening.

I soon fell into the black embrace of sleep.

I woke up to someone shaking me. I rubbed my eyes and yawned, opening my eyes to the face of a sheepish Hunter. Then I realized the alarm bells were ringing.

"What did you do this time, Hunter?"

"I know the voices in my head aren't real, but sometimes there ideas are just _so good_!" Was her way of explaining.

I got out of bed and grabbed my kanatas, strapping them around my waist. I was already dressed, having never getting out of my clothes in the first place. I noticed Hunter hade her guns on her hips and her two knives of her upper arms.

Whatever she had done, it must have been bad.

She was running in place and grabbed my hand when I was done with my slim swords. We ran-Well more like, she dragged me- out of the room and down the hallway, where Sky, Vector, and Adian were waiting. They all had their weapons of choice as well.

Sky held a bronze staff with blades on either end in her hands. Adian had a small gun in his hand, and while Vector looked unarmed, I knew better. He probably had a giant bazooka in his little tool belt of death.

I sweat dropped when I heard the thundering of footsteps in the Fireclan hallway. I gave Vector a look.

"She went into the Fireclan hallway?"

"Yep."

"I'm guessing she went armed with pranks."

"Correct again."

"Leader?"

"Now covered in tar and feathers." 

"You have got to be kidding."

"I wish I was."

"Bring it on."

We faced the rest once again and saw that our exits were all cut of. A flash of metal caught my attention, and I saw Hunter pull out her guns and spin them around on her pointer finger before catching them and pointing them at the small army assembled. A wide grin was on her face.

"Lets do this!" She yelled before pulling the trigger and deflecting a spear with the other gun.

I pulled out the white kanata on my waist, leaving the black one sheathed. After all, that was only to be used in emergences. I joined in the fun. Soon enough, Vector and Adian jumped in, despite Sky's rather loud complaints.

Then she came in.

One epic fight scene later, we walked out of the mountain in slow motion. A ticking was heard and we turned around before hauling butt. We ran in slow motion. Yea… That didn't work to well. The mountain exploded-well, the top did- and we were all blown forwards.

Hunter sprang up first, smile still intact.

"Don't tell me _you _planted that bomb." Sky groaned weakly.

"Yep!"

Adian, who had just gotten up, face planted.

"Well… to James's house?" I asked, rubbing my head.

"To James's house." Vector agreed.

"I hope he doesn't kill us…"

**What was Shade's dream about? Who died? What is Hunter and Adian's secret? How will this affect their quest that they don't know about? Will they even live to find out about the quest? Will James not kill them? Why am I asking so many questions? Find out next time, on **_**Kitsune!**_** Well, I mean, you won't find out all the answers at once… That would ruin the story… *Rambles***

**Hunter: OK THEN! Please leave a review! Come on, you know you want to!**

**Hunter &amp; Me: UNTIL NEXT TIME!**


	10. Chapter 10

**So, I was reading over my chapters, and I feel like I have some Mary-Sue's. Can I get your opinion on that? It will help me to find what I'm doing wrong and improve my writing.**

**Thanks a billion~!**

It was a nice night. I was having fun stargazing from my window. Yea, it was nice. So something was obviously going to ruin it. Completely. I should have taken some sort of warning when the top of Hunter's mountain base blew up.

Then it happened. My night was ruined. And the bad luck came in the form of five people with animal ears and tails. Great.

When they first knocked on my door, I opened it, took one look, and shut the door. I really shouldn't have done that, because the next thing I know, the door was on the other side of the room, and an extremely pissed Shade and Hunter came barreling in, steam practically poring out of their ears. I was suddenly glad my mom was in France for the next month for a study course.

Instead of being shocked, I raised one finger, walked over to the nearest wall silently, and without warning, slammed my head into it, successfully knocking myself out.

I came to on the couch, Sky and Vector hovering over me worriedly. I shut my eyes again, not wanting to see the faces of the cause of my misery.

Then it struck me.

They had come at 12 o'clock at night, busted down my door, and made me knock myself out. I guess I must have had a slight tantrum, because I soon found the annoyances on the floor with random pieces of furniture on them, the worst being Hunter and Shade, who had a door and large coffee table on their backs respectively.

Shade was the first one up. "WHAT THE FRICK!" She shouted at my, the force of her scream pushing my hair back. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"OH, I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T REALIZE YOU WERE COMING OVER FOR A FRIENDLY VIST AFTER YOU _BUSTED MY DOOR DOWN!_" I yelled right back, fire blazing in my brown eyes.

"YOU WERE THE ONE WHO SHUT IT IN OUR FACES!"

"THAT DOES _NOT _MEAN YOU BUST IT DOWN!"

"THEN WHAT DOES IT MEAN, HUH?"

"IT **MEANS **'GET THE FRICK OFF MY LAWN'!"

"Guys…"

"STAY OUT OF IT, ADIAN!" We both screamed at the small boy, who shivered and went into an emo corner, waves of depression rolling off him while Sky patted his back.

I calmed down and plopped onto the floor next to Hunter, who had a rather large bump on her head.

"So, why are you here?" I finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Because, in a stroke of genius," Sky said this with a rather large amount of sarcasm dripping off her words like venom, "Hunter here decided it would be great if she covered Flame with tar and feathers, then blow up the mountain after almost getting us killed."

I stole a glace at Hunter, who was grinning widely, and scooted over slightly. You know, for safety reasons. I was NOT scared, okay?! I WASN'T!

I looked around and realized that my uninvited-and unwanted- company was armed to the teeth except for Vector, who only had a little tool belt around her waist. I guess he did hand to hand combat.

I changed my tune real quick when her pulled a rather large bazooka out and began tinkering with it. I stared at it for a little, decided I hade seen stranger things and left it alone.

I saw that Hunter was no longer sitting next to me. "Hey, where's-" A large crash came from the kitchen area. Soon Hunter reappeared, arms full of junk food and a piece of chocolate hanging out of her mouth.

I slapped my forehead and reached over to take the food away.

Bad idea.

I would have ended up with no hand if Vector hadn't snatched it away fast enough. I stared in shock at Hunter, who was know growling at me like some sort of monster, ears shoved forward and tails bristling.

I looked over at Vector, who sweat dropped. "Word of the wiser, don't try to take Hunter's food unless you want to end up with one less limb than what you started with." He muttered. I nodded slowly.

A couple of loud explanations later, I finally got them to shut up. I sighed in relief and leaned back on the couch heavily.

After a couple of blissful moments of quiet, Hunter and the rest's ears suddenly pricked foreword. I looked around at them, noticing how tense they had become. Shade had begun to slowly unsheathe her white kanata and Adian and Hunter had drawn their guns.

I was about to ask what was wrong when I heard it. A low wining noise coming from outside. I began to feel the hairs on my neck raise up and I felt static electricity race through the air. My eyes widened and I managed to flatten Hunter to the floor before a large bolt of deadly lightning shot just hairs above us.

Everyone was on his or her feet in a flash and I clambered off Hunter after realizing what a weird position we had ended up in. The noise had gotten louder and what looked like a black snout poked into the now door less doorframe.

They rest of the body came and I nearly puked from the thick smell of death that it carried.

It looked like a large, black, bloody horse. It had glowing blue eyes and every now and then light would flash around its body.

It had the shape of a regular horse, but it was blurry around the edges, as if had been smeared by an eraser. It had multiple slashes on its neck and face, and a large gaping hole where I was pretty sure a heart should have been.

I gulped and reached for a weapon of some sort, and ended up with a small tin of breath mints. I sweat dropped and face faulted. Not what you would call an A-Class weapon, but it would half to do, because the monster looked ready to charge.

I glanced to my right and saw sweat make a path down Hunter's face. On my right, Adian gulped and tightened his grip on the gun.

I popped a breath mint in my mouth.

What? At lest I would have nice smelling breath when I made it to the flip side.

Sky raised her staff and took the first swing. It came around fast, but when it connected, nothing happened. It simply passed right through. I had a sinking feeling that we were completely screwed.

Adian and Hunter shot a couple of rounds, but like the blade, the bullets slid right on by.

The horse made its move and we only just managed to evade it. The demon crashed into the wall, and it left a mark.

"H-how… How can it make a dent in the wall, but we can't touch it?" Sky cried, swinging her staff with the same results.

We ran into the open before it could recover. We didn't get vary far.

A sudden shout of pain had me skidding to a halt. I spun around and saw that the horse had caught up and at some point had grown a horn. That same horn had pierced Sky through the arm. Straight through. I could see the end of it poking past her skin on the other side.

"SKY!" Adian shouted, running back to help. The horn was removed with a wet sound, and the wound began bleed gallons. Sky grit her teeth and clutched her arm.

Adian had only made it so far before a lightning bolt struck him down. His mouth gaped in a silent scream as it hit him. He collapsed and Hunter let out a scream. She ran over and picked him up, scrambling to get back over to us before she was hit too.

She was lucky.

She placed Adian down on the ground and looked up at the demon with a look of complete rage.

"**Don't touch my family, you **_**FLITH!**_**"**__She screamed, firing like a mad person. The bullets passed right through, but she didn't stop firing. When she was out of bullets, she pulled out her knives and ran at the demon.

The knife deflected a bolt, and she brought the other one down onto its neck. It hit. The demon looked just as surprised as us. It screamed and reared onto its back legs. It brought its hooves down, and Hunter didn't have time to react. She got out of the way, but one of her legs and two of her tails were crushed. The scream she let out will forever haunt my mind.

I must have blanked out for a few moments, because I saw Shade and Vector lying on the ground, moaning in pain from the multiple wounds they carried.

The smell of blood was thick in the air and I was unarmed besides the can of breath mints.

The demon charged me, and I threw out my hands instinctively. The horse stopped in front of me.

It sniffed the breath mints.

It screamed.

And it disappeared in a cloud of foul smelling black smoke.

I stared at the place it had been.

And stared.

And stared some more.

Then it finally registered.

"Its weakness was… Breath mints?"

I fell anime style.

I got up and brushed myself off. I remembered my… friends, and turned around, wincing at their state.

Adian had woken up, but had a bad burn on his stomach. He was cradling his sister's head in his arms, chanting like a mantra, "Don't die, don't die, don't die…"

Sky had managed to stop the bleeding and she had wrapped it up in bandages I guessed were from the pouch on shoulder I hadn't seen.

Vector and Shade seemed to be the lest injured, but weather it was from skill or sheer luck, I didn't know.

My world suddenly tilted and I felt dewy grass on my cheek. A faintly heard Sky shout before everything went black.

My night sure had been ruined.

**All done~! What did you think? I'm not to great at fight scenes, so I'm not sure how that turned out…**

**Oh, well!**

**REVEW PLEASE!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Wazzup! New installment coming your way! Oh, and sorry about the wait. Please review!**

It was cold. Cold and dark. Cold, dark, and-_ow_\- painful. Those were the first things I noticed. Of cores, it is kinda hard to _not _feel burning pain coming from your legs and tails. If you had tails…

Anyway, I floated in between the thin line of life and death. I think that demon had crushed more than just bone. I cracked open my eyes and sat up. I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself.

_Where am I?_ I wondered. The pain was fading, but I wasn't sure if that was good or bad. I stood up and walked forward. Soon, I found myself in a gray room with a gray piano in it. I walked over to it and trailed my fingers over the ivory and black keys, the only color in this gray room.

It had been years since I had played last. I hadn't played since the incident. I still wasn't sure what had happened, as my memory was hazy and fuzzy. But, it doesn't really matter. I prefer to live in the here and now. The past stays where it should be. The past.

But as I ran my fingers over the keys, I couldn't help but wonder.

What had happened?

Why did I stop playing?

Who am I really?

I sat down on the piano bench and rested my hands on the cool ivory. I closed my eyes and hit an A minor. A melody drifted into my mind, and my fingers flew across the piano, keeping in time with the music in my head.

A picture flew into my mind.

A young girl was standing in a burning meadow, staring at the flames with morbid curiosity. She turned her head as the sound of screaming reached her ears. I turned my head too. I saw a man and woman standing in the flames, their flesh being eaten by the angry hellfire. They reached out to the girl, but she did nothing. Just stood and watched. Watched the couple turn to ashes, drifting away, piece by burning piece. She watched until there was nothing left, and a smile slowly grew on her face. A chuckle escaped her, soon turning into a giggle, then into full-blown mad laughter. Tears streamed down her face and she laughed, beading double. She raised her head. Gone was the empathetic look, replaced by one of complete insanity. She twirled around, long black hair flowing around her body. "Dead, dead, dead! Dead and gone! Gone forever! Dead to this world!" She giggled, her purple eyes pinpoints. "Serves them right!" She stopped twirling and turned around. "Fools. All of them." She muttered darkly before walking off into the forest, and I was once again surrounded by the cold and dark.

I suddenly jolted to awareness on a soft bed. I placed a hand on my head and closed my eyes. I took my hand off my head and rested it next to my body. It was then a searing pain shot through my body, coming from my legs. I just managed to keep from screaming.

I looked down and grimsed. My legs were wrapped in bandages, blood staining the white cloth. My tails were in a similar state, with two out of action.

I thought back to the dream and pondered. It had felt real, and that little girl seemed familiar, almost like I had been there before. A memory perhaps? Either way, it had made me much more interested in my past.

A light snore made me turn my head, and I saw my brother sleeping in a chair to my right. I smiled slightly when I saw that he was ok, then winced again at the pain.

I somehow managed to prop myself up- Don't ask me how, because I can honestly look you dead in the eye and say that I have no fricken clue- and picked up a roll of bread that had been on the nightstand. As I munched to the roll, I looked around and wondered where I was.

My eyes landed on a pile of little building models and a pile of books on the said subject. I face faulted and face palmed. Well, that answered my question.

"Hunter! Oh, thank god your awake!" I turned my head just in time to get a face full of annoying little brother.

"GHA! Easy on the legs, Adian!" But I returned his hug none-the-less. "Yea, I'm awake, and I plan on staying the world of the living for a while longer, so there's really no need to worry."

"I know that, but as your brother, it is my job to be worried!"

I pushed him off and laughed, ruffling his hair, like how I know he hates. He scowled at me, but I just grinned at him cheekily at him. He played with his hair for a few minuets, trying to get it back to the correct amount of messiness.

Suddenly the door burst open and Shade skidded into the room, arm in a sling. "HUNTER! YOU'RE AWAKE! THANK GOD! NOW TELL SKY TO SHUT UP!" She screamed at me. My eyes were opened wide and I stared at my best friend.

"Alright, tone it down. I don't want to be legally deaf." I muttered, rubbing my ears, shutting my eyes against an oncoming headache. But as soon as I closed them, the melody and the memory come flooding back, making me gasp and grab my head.

"W-what…is this…?" I murmured as the tide finally slowed down. I opened my eyes to the concerned faces of my brother and friend. Suddenly they were gone, replaced by blood and gore. My head felt as though it was spitting open, and I grabbed my hair and screamed. Around the bed were the dead bodies of my family and friends.

Shade's neck had been torn out and her white kanata was skewered though her head, while her black one was in her stomach. A giant x had been carved into her arm.

Sky's wings were broken and her legs and arms were twisted at unnatural angles. Her staff had been spit in two and the pieces had been used to pin her down to the ground.

Adian had a gaping hole where his heart should have been and his internals were spread out around him. His gun had been used to shot a hole though his head and his eyes had been ripped out.

Vector had been decapitated. His life-blood pooled around him and his head lay next to him, eyes glassy and staring into nowhere.

James had no visible wounds, but blood leaked from his mouth, and his empty brown eyes were stretched wide in horror. If I had to guess, I would say he was either poisoned or scared to death.

I screamed while looking at my dead friends. I realized my hands were wet and sticky with some substance. I brought them down from my hair and stared at the blood coating me.

_This is your fault._

What!? NO! I would never do something like this! And more to the point, where is that voice coming from?

_I am you, and you are me. I know the secrets of your past, of the bloodlust in you that you don't know of. I know your darkest fears and your happiest moments._

No, that's impossible.

_Is it? Just like the melody you had never heard before, yet held a familiar feeling? Just like the dead bodies of your friends, yet they are right in front of you? Is that impossible? You know it isn't, deep in your blackened heart. You know that this is not impossible. You know._

NO! SHUT UP!

_But don't you want to know the truth?_

SHUT UP!

_I thought you needed to know. Is that not what you said?_

No… I don't want this… I don't…

_Very well. You will come to the realization sooner or later, though. You have been warned._

The voice disappeared, as well as the blood and bodies.

I once again saw the faces of my very much alive friends, who now looked panic stricken.

I put a hand to my head and looked around at them. "What are you looking at?" I asked, glaring slightly.

"Hunter… you just had a full blown panic attack…" Vector said slowly. "Are you ok?"

_No, I'm not. Not at all,_ is what I wanted to say. Instead I put on a bright smile. "Yep! Just fine. You don't need to worry about it. I'm fine." I reassured them cheerfully. "I don't need you to baby me." _Help me._ "I don't need any help right now." _Please. _"It's not like I'm going to die on you guys!" _I think I'm going crazy._

I guess they bought the fake smile, because soon they all left.

Not long after they left, I fell into a fitful sleep.

%^%^%^%

I woke up to cheering "HA! He woke up! Sky, you owe me 10 bucks!"

"You were betting on my recovery rate!?"

"Yep!"

"WHAT IN THE ACCUAL FRICK IS WRONG WITH YOU?"

"As opposed to the fake frick?"

"OH, YOU SHUT UP!"

I snickered. Definitely James and Shade.

I swung my legs off the bed and grabbed the crutches left out for me. I stood up painfully, with lots of swearing and cursing involved. Slowly I walked out of the room and into the living room, where James was laying on the couch, arguing with Shade, who was standing above him, glaring down. Sky stood next to the bickering duo, sweat dropping and trying to make peace.

"Don't bother, Sky. They might as well be siblings with the way they argue." I laughed lightly, smiling slightly at Sky's shocked face.

"HUNTER! What are you doing out of bed! You aren't healed yet!" She shouted.

I puffed up my cheeks and glared. "I don't need to be babied. Did I not already say this?" I groaned in annoyance.

I walked over to a chair next to the couch. "Hey, Shade. Go get me some milk." I grunted, looked at her.

"Get it yourself. I'm not your personal servant."

I gave her a puppy dog face, grey eyes wide and sparkling. "But I'm injured~ Would you really make your hurt friend get her own glass of milk? ~" To add to it, I teared up a little and put a fist next to my face.

Shade struggled not to give in, but she was cracking. I doubled my intensity. She gave in.

"This is a one time thing, ok?" She grumbled.

You could practically see the fox ears pop out of my head. Oh, wait…you can see them… DON'T QUESTION IT!

"Right, Shade-dearest." I drawled lazily. I gulped down the milk once she gave it to me, wiping my mouth on my sleeve.

I put down the glass with a dull _thunk_ and turned to James.

"So, what the hell happened to you?" I asked oh-so eloquently.

"I'm not really sure." He started. "I defeated the demon, then passed out. Don't know why or how. I guess I was just really tired and worn out. You can ask Sky what happened after that."

I looked at him for a little while.

"Wait…how did you stop the demon if we couldn't. No offence, but you're kind of a weakling."

James went into his emo corner and cried heavily. "It's not my fault! I was born like this! Why does everyone hate me?" He wailed.

We face-faulted.

Shade walked over and slapped him. He snapped out of it pretty quick.

He coughed slightly and sat down. "Well, I had a tin of breath mints, right? So, after you were all defeated, it charged me. I put out my hands reflectively. I sniffed the breath mints and exploded."

I stared at him…and burst into hysterics. "W-what? I-it's all-allergic to BREATH MINTS? I give, I give!" I sputtered out between chuckles. I was now on the ground, beating it with my fist as tears pored out of my eyes.

Shade had also started to laugh, and Sky simply sighed at our stupidity. Then she pulled out a rulebook.

Old habits die hard.

The dream came to mind again, but I pushed it back.

Right now, all was well.

Even if it wasn't going to last.

**Oooo! The plot thickens! What will happen next? To find out, click on the little box below and leave a review!**

**Praise is welcomed, constructive criticisms is enjoyed, and flames are ignored!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Guess what! I'm NOT dead! Sorry about the wait, I just haven't been feeling well, school hates me, and I haven't had any inspiration for this story in a while. But low and behold, I have crawled out of the dark pit of homework and non-inspiration just for you guys!**

**So, a couple of points, this story will only flash between James, Hunter, and Shade POV. If you want to have another characters POV chapter, just put it in a review and I will do the best I can!**

**Also, the updates on **_**Kitsune **_**will slow considerably due to homework, swim, convincing my mom to let me have piano lessons, all that good stuff. I have been seriously weighed down by work and I have had a bad cold for the past god knows how long, so I really haven't been able to just sit down and write for a long time. So, yea. Updates will be far and few in between. OH! And I'm going to Harry Potter World-Universal- and Disney in the same week- next week- so no updates then. Sorry!**

**Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has stuck with this story for so long. I'm really sorry about the slow development, but when I started, I really had no idea where this was going. It was honestly only a story to pass time and hopefully finish just for the feeling of accomplishment. But you guys really helped me pull this into something bigger, so once again, THANK YOU GUYS SOOO MUCH!**

**Now, enough with my ramblings, here is the real thing you clicked this link for!**

Shade POV:

I paced the length of James's front room once again, deep in thought. What was that thing that attacked us, what did it want, and why on earth was it's weakness _breath mints, _of all things?

These thoughts circled my head over and over, never ending, never relenting. It was really frustrating, and it made me want to pull out my hair. But, that would hurt and it would be pretty hard to do with a broken limb.

I glared down at the useless limb as if it were responsible for everything that happened. It wasn't, obviously, it was all Ibles's fault. Wait… Ibles! Of course! Why did I not think of that before?

Ibles was the monster we had to defeat, and he knew this. He doesn't want to die, not yet, and so, he must have sent out those demons! It really couldn't have been anything else. The enemy wants us gone…

And speaking of enemies, Hunter had gone and made Fireclan even angrier with us than before. Soon, they would send out their team, and we would meet in a battle. "I really don't know if we have manpower to stop them…" I muttered to myself quietly.

"Stop who?" Came a voice from my right. I spun on my heel to see Vector walk in the room. Hmm… Vector was better at things like this than me, so he would be able to help.

"Fireclan's team. I mean, sure. We have been neck and neck with them for the longest time, but with Hunter, Adian, Sky, and James out of commotion and me and you with broken limbs"- I gestured to my arm and his leg- "We really don't stand a fighting chance." I finished limply, arm falling to my side once again.

Vector limped over with the help of his crutch and sat down on the chair opposite me. He crossed his legs and put his head in his hand, going into thinking mode. "Well, we will definitely need to move, and fast, if we want to throw them off our trail any. But other than that, all we can do is heal as fast as possible, train James to make sure he isn't completely defenseless, and improve ourselves. Not much else can be done, really." He leaned back in the chair and looked at the ceiling.

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. I was suddenly feeling bone weary and tired. My eyelids felt like they had lead weights attached to them and there was so much pressing down on my mind, it seemed like it was never going to end.

My strong façade dropping, I sat down heavily and dropped my face into the cups my hands made. I heard the shuffling of cloth and the couch dipped down in response to the added weight. I felt a warm had rub soothing circles on my back. "Calm down, Shade." Vector said softly. "You don't have to do everything around here. We're here to help._ I'm_ here."

I looked up and gave him a soft smile, tired eyes locking with his lively ones.

I sat up rubbed my eyes. We stood and I gave him a hug. "Thanks, Vector. Really." I said, poring all of my sincerity into those 3 words. He hugged me back and laughed. "That's what I'm here for, right?"

"Hey, lovebirds! Dinner!" A new voice shouted, filled with amusement.

Vector and I sprang apart, red faced and sputtering. I turned around to see Hunter and James, James supporting Hunter. I scrunched my face, looking at them. "Oh, are _we _the lovebirds?" I took pleasure in the nice hue of red they both turned.

Hunter turned her head, struggling to fight off the blush on her pale cheeks. "Well, dinners ready, so if you want to eat…" She trailed off. I shuddered. "I'm not even _looking _at something you cooked." I stated firmly.

Hunter pouted. "My cooking skills aren't _that _bad… Besides, I didn't cook it. Sky did."

"Uh, yea, they are that bad. But Sky can cook decant food, so hear ye, hear ye!" I shouted raising my fists. I realized that as soon as Hunter and James came in, my façade slipped back on, and I was no longer tired. I smiled-a real, genuine smile- and followed Hunter and James, only pausing to grab Vector's hand and pull him along with us.

%*%

After we ate, Adian brought up the long-awaited question.

"Well, what now?" He asked. Hunter stopped shoveling food in her mouth and thought about the question. "Hmm… I really don't know." And she promptly returned to inhaling her food.

I leaned forward onto the tabletop. "Well, Vector and I were talking about that earlier, and we deiced that we have to leave James's house and move on. Now, not only do we have those monster things, but also Fireclan's team on our trail, thanks to a _certain _someone." I sent a pointed look to Hunter, who had the decency to look sheepish.

"We will have to train James," I continued, looking at James, who had looked over like a deer in headlights. "Because right now, he's a complete weakling. Fireclan knows this, so they will aim for him."

"Me?" James squeaked. I nodded in confirmation. "Yep. You."

James was suddenly looking very pale.

"You know, I really never wanted any part of this, so why don't you just leave me here and go by yourselves?"

"Because Fireclan knows about you, and will no doubt go after you. You kind of are the source of all their problems."

"Well that's comforting."

"It wasn't supposed to be." I looked at him strangely. He face faulted. "That was sarcasm." He muttered, palm meeting face with a resounding _smack_.

"Oh. I knew that."

"Of course you did."

"AND WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"

"IT MEANS YOU'RE AN IDIOT!"

"WHAY DON'T YOU COME OVER HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE!"

"I JUST DID!"

"WHY YOU-"

"GUYS! We don't have time for this! Good god, you argue more than Adian and me! And we're siblings!" Hunter shouted. "Man, they could be long-lost family with the way they get along." She added, rubbing her temples.

James and I turned away stubbornly, refusing to apologize to each other. Sky said something about going to pack what few belongings she had brought with and walked away, Adian following soon after.

Hunter, Vector, James, and I stayed a little longer, just talking and arguing and laughing while we could before we too went to pack.

I walked into the room I was borrowing and grabbed my Katanas. I looked around and saw a flash of gold that grabbed my attention. I walked over to the place I saw the flash and bent down on my knees. It was a gold necklace, a little flaming torch pendent dangling in the middle. I recognized it as one of the things I had managed to snatch from my old room before Hunter pulled me out.

I clasped it around my neck to hang and I tucked it under my shirt. It was one of the only things I have remaining of my childhood before Hunter and the others. I shook my head, as if dispelling cobwebs and trotted out of the room, head held high. I refused to let my past weigh me down anymore. I was a new person, come what may, and I was going to face the day with everything I have, past be damned.

I walked to the door and was soon joined by Hunter, James, Vector, Sky and Adian. We walked out of the house, ready to face anything.

%*%

"Uggghh! My feet hurt! And I'm being eaten alive by mosquitoes! Why did we not bring any bug spray! What are we, idiots?" James complained yet again.

"No, but pretty soon you will be James-on-a-stick if you don't shut up now." I threatened, glowering at him, one hand resting on my white Katana.

He gulped and shut up.

You know what? Forget what I said about being ready to take on anything. We weren't ready to take on a fly.

This is going to be one painful trip.

**All done! So, this was a fluffy chapter, filled with fluff and not a lot of dark themes. But, we got a small look at Shade's past yet again, this time through a necklace, even if it was small and almost non-existent… But, hey, I was in a happy mood when I wrote the end of this! And I was in a very fluffy mood when I wrote the beginnings of this chapter!**

**So, parings. I'm thinking ShadexVector, HunterxJames, and SkyxAdian! Please tell me what you think about this in your reviews! (Kayla-San, please don't kill me!)**

**Praise is welcome, constructive criticism enjoyed, and flames are ignored! Thanks for reading!**


	13. yet another writers block

**Hello! No, this is not a chapter, sorry! I just got a giant writers block, which kinda stinks. I also wanted to clear up some things.**

**Ok, so first, Shade's hair is no longer in two spiky pigtails. It is now is a ponytail! My and friend, who this character is loosely based on, conversed about it for a while, and we settled on putting her hair in a ponytail for a plethora of reasons that remain irrelevant right now.**

**Hunter: In other words, she and Kayla-San just thought it looked cool.**

**Oh, you shut up!**

**Anyway, second, for those of you who remembered that in the beginning of this, I made Vector Sky's brother, that is now being revoked because it makes a giant plot hole. See, I already figured out both of their pasts (I'm not gonna tell what they are! You have to read to find out! Hehe~) and when you put them together, it makes absolutely no since. So, although it was most likely forgotten, just putting that out there so I don't tear the fabric of space-time.**

**And last, but not lest, this fic has somehow turned into a songfic- kind of. I'm not saying there will be a song every chapter, but do expect some sort of random song time at some point along the way in some chapters. If you don't like songfics, you don't have to read this. I WAS JUST LISTENING TO SONGS WHEN I WROTE THIS! DON'T HATE ME!**

**Sky- Calm down, DS!**

**I DIDN'T MEAN- Wait. DS?**

**Sky- Ya, Dancing Shadows, you know, your pen name?**

**Ooohh! I remember!**

**Sky- You're learning!**

**Thank you, thank- wait, was that sarcasm?**

**Sky- *****face faults***** You are a **_**moron!**_

***Pulls out giant bazooka* Come again?**

**Sky- Never mind!**

**That's what I thought… But, yea, DS is fine if that's what you want to call me.**

**Sky-Cool!**

**Anyway, after that long, completely pointless omake, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR IDEAS SO THAT THE CHAPTERS CAN COME OUT SOONER!**

**Kitsune cast and me: THANK YOU!**


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm back! Please enjoy this new installment of **_**Kitsune! **_**I don't own Ball Jointed Dolls (song), so don't spread sues, spread reviews!**

Hunter POV:

We had been walking for god-knows how long and my feet were aching. I normally ok with walking for long distances, but I mean, give me a break! My leg and tails had only just healed up completely after being on the road for at lest a week.

Our little ragtag group of weirdoes had see a plethora of strange things, such as trees carved with strange symbols that even Vector couldn't decipher, ruins of buildings, and doll parts scattered every where. Sky had screamed really loud when she stepped on a human-sized doll arm attached to the torso. Adian, who had been looking at the trees, had run over to comfort her, which had worked, strangely enough, as he normally sucked at the fine art of stopping people from screaming louder than they already were.

Vector, Shade, and I came over and figured out that it was, in fact, only a doll limb, which had really crept everyone out.

Now, about an hour after, the sun had long since set, Shade was still going on about it. "Shade! Can we please stop talking about it?" I asked forcefully after a while.

"What's the matter? Scared?" She teased me. I knew she was only joking, but dolls really did freak me out, much more than clowns. And that was saying something.

My ears burned and I looked down. She looked at me in surprise. "You _are _scared? Oh my god! I can't believe that you're afraid of _dolls!" _She laughed in disbelief. I spun around. "It's not that uncommon of a fear! And they're just so creepy, with their glassy eyes that follow you and the ball joints that allow them to move around. And the singing! Oh, god, the _singing_! It's just not natural!" I shook my head.

Then the sound of a piano made itself present. I looked around wildly, searching for the source.

"Guys, over here!" Adian called in a hushed voice.

We ran over and peered out from behind the tree and we saw a large stone platform and dancing on it were two girls._ No_, I realized, as I looked closer. _They are not girls. They're __**dolls**__. _My eyes widened and I strained to see them better.

The first had long red hair that fell in waves to her chest. Her skin was porcelain and her eyes-oh _god_, her _eyes!_ They were a bright green, but they were glassy and stared into nowhere. One of her eyelids had been chewed off or something and the eye had long since fallen out of its socket, hanging down by the mouth, connected only by a tread of white wire. Ball joints connected her limbs and she spun around gracefully on pointed toes, her dark green dress flowing around her.

The second was much like the first, only her hair was black, her eyes purple, and both connected to her. She had a large part of her midsection missing and half of her face was torn, but that did nothing to stop the sound that flowed out from both of their mouths in sync.

_Un_

_Duex_

_Tois_

_I am just a tiny doll. Just a ball jointed doll._

_Take me, wind me, turn my toy spring, else I won't move at all._

_Lu, lu, lu, lu, lulu, lu, lu, lu._

_La, la, la, la, la, la, ah, ah_

_Dancing and dancing until we drop. Until this body rots._

_Dancing and dancing until we drop. Until this body rots._

_Tiny dolls with little ball joints. Fastened by drops of glue._

_Master moves me, as he pleases. I move only for you._

_Lu, lu, lu, lu, lulu, lu, lu, lu._

_La, la, la, la, la, la, ah, ah._

_Dancing and dancing until we drop. Until this body rots._

_Dancing and dancing until we drop. Until this body rots._

_I am such a precious doll. I'm here to calm and sooth._

_I don't move well on my own. Take me, make me move._

_Lu, lu, lu, lu, lulu, lu, lu, lu._

_La, la, la, la, la, la, ah, ah._

_Dancing and dancing until we drop. Until this body rots._

_Dancing and dancing until we drop. Until this body rots._

_Un_

_Duex_

_Tois_

_Someday my springs will stop working. Then my movement will cease._

_When dolls don't move, then we slumber. Dolls will then fall asleep._

_Lu, lu, lu, lu, lulu, lu, lu, lu._

_La, la, la, la, la, la, ah, ah._

_Dancing and dancing until we drop. Until this body rots._

_Dancing and dancing until we drop. Until this body rots._

_Dancing and dancing until we drop. Until this body rots_

_Dancing and dancing until we drop. Until this…body…rots._

Then as soon as the song stopped, they both froze in the position they were in, one arm above head, back bent, and the other arm across their waists.

"Well… that was strange." I muttered, earning a nod of agreement from James.

We walked away from the tree followed by Shade, James, Sky, and Adian, who all looked as if under a spell. They're eyes had turned as glassy as the ball jointed dolls and they're ears, tails, and wings hung limply from their bodies, as if they didn't belong there.

I spun on my heel and tapped Shade on the shoulder. Her skin was strangely cool. "See, I told you that they were really creepy." I said triumphantly, although I was still shaken from the dolls performance. She just nodded listlessly. I raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with you?" I wondered out loud.

I shrugged it off and continued walking, as I was sure she was just tired. But it was still worrying, as they all showed the same symptoms as Shade, except James.

I guess they were just tired.

$%$%

I couldn't sleep that night. The song echoed in my mind, pulling up some unknown memories from dark places. I feared that if I fell asleep, I would only have nightmares.

So I sat, propped up, shivering in the cold. I had time to reflect on today, and the strangeness of it all.

It started normally, but then, after the night fell, things started happening. We found the ruins, the symbols, and the doll parts. Then the ball jointed dolls performance, and the other behavior. It just wasn't natural.

I must have sat there for at lest an hour when I became aware of movement from the camp. I looked over and met the glassy stare of Sky's normally bright green eyes. I blinked and looked at her closely. I almost screamed.

Her joints were gone, replaced by ball joints and her skin shared a likeness with fine china. The life seemed to have been sucked out of her and she moved in jerky, sudden strides. Sky's mouth was split down the sides, to her chin, to enable her mouth to move.

Sky's mouth opened and the tune from earlier spilled out. 

_I am just a tiny doll. Just a ball jointed doll._

_Take me, wind me, turn my toy spring, else I won't move at all._

A rustle from my left and Vector emerged, looking like Sky.

_Tiny dolls with little ball joints, fastened by drops of glue._

_Master moves me as he pleases, I move only for you.  
_

A twig snapped and Adian came forth, looking like a puppet on strings.

_I am such a preciouses doll; I'm here to calm and sooth._

_I don't move well on my own. Take me, make me move._

Shade joined them, just as listless.

_One day my springs will stop working, and my movement will cease._

_When dolls don't move then we slumber…_

They all sang together.

_Dolls will then fall asleep._

_Lu, lu, lu, lulu, lu._

_La, la, la, la, la, ah, ah_

_Dancing and dancing until we drop, until this body rots._

_Dancing and dancing until we drop, until this body rots._

_Dancing and dancing until we drop, until this body rot._

_Dancing and dancing until we drop, until this… body… rots._

They then started to move farther into the forest, restarting the song. I felt useless, still frozen in shock, and all I could do was watch.

"What in the hell?" I managed to mutter, finally coming out of my delirium and ran back to the camp to get James.

"James, wake up!" I shouted at him. He merely rolled over and muttered something about his eternal love for pancakes. A tick mark appeared on my forehead and I slammed my fist into his face. He shot up screaming, "I swear it wasn't me! The evil panda ninja's did it!"

I stared at him.

He turned to face me.

I blinked.

His face turned a nice hue of dark red.

I face palmed.

"…What happened shall never be spoken of again." -James

"Agreed." -Me

He took my out stretched hand and I hauled him to his feet. "Anyway, we have bigger problems." I said, face grim.

"Like what?" He asked skeptically.

"Oh, nothing really. Just the fact that Sky, Adian, Vector, and Shade turned into ball joints dolls. But, you know. That's not really a big deal. We'll just leave them to succumb to whatever evil thing has them in its grip. Then you'll have to live with the guilt for the rest of your miserable existence. And then, knowing that it was you who held me back from going to help my friends, I will hate you forever." I said, shrugging. "But, you know. Nothing that bad."

James was now as white as snow. "Hey, I have an amazing idea!" He said with forced enthusiasm. "Let's go find Shade, Vector, Sky, and Adian!"

"I knew you'd come around!"

%^%^

And that was how we ended up wandering around in a dark forest in below freezing temperatures. I was in my element, James, however was a liiitle out of his.

"Ahhhh! It so cold! And I can't see my hand in front of my face! Ouch! That's the tenth time I've ran into a tree!"

… Ok, so a little was an understatement.

"Will you shut up! For god's sake, it really isn't that cold!" I shouted at him. "Honestly, the moron. Only Thinking for himself." I stuck my nose in the air. "Shameful."

"OH, I'm the one who only thinks of myself! Who was it that broke into my home and dragged me on this wild goose chase? YOU!"

"Why you little punk!"

"Oh, look, sister! A lover's quarrel!"

"IT'S NOT A LOVER'S QUARREL!" I screamed.

"Umm… Who are you?" James asked and I realized it wasn't someone I knew.

"HOLY ******* WITH *** TATER***SQUIRRLES*** CHOCOLET*** ** ANIME IS AWESOME!" I yelled, tripping over my feet in the process.

"Watch your profanity." A girls voice called impishly while James stared at me in shock.

Two people jumped down in front of us, a boy and a girl.

They looked almost the same, with blond hair and sneaky grins, but the boy had bright blue eyes and the girl green. But that wasn't what shook me. Instead of pupils, they both had a yellow positive and negative signs, in their left and right eye respectively and blue neon wires wrapped around their bodies, connected to black headphones around their necks.

The girl was wearing a sleeveless hoody lined with white fur on top of a gray shirt that had a picture of a bow and black shorts. She was wearing black knee socks and black convers and her hair was pinned back with two black bobby pins.

The boy was wearing a black hoody with a long back on top of a black tee with the white outline of a tie. He was wearing long back pants and black convers. His hair was pulled up into a small ponytail.

The both reached into their pockets and whipped out remotes.

The girl's was red and white, and she held it horizontally.

The boy's was black and he held it vertically.

They pressed a few buttons and the world around us shimmered and warped, and soon we found ourselves in a large, futuristic looking room.

It was a room that kept changing colors every few seconds and those things you would find on a radio, that monitored the sound were lining the walls and there was two TV's in front of them, but four chairs.

James and I spun around to face the twins-I guess they were twins.

"Hello. My name is Gadget and this is my sister Aruna. Welcome to _our _world."

**All done! Thanks for reading! Please tell me what you think of Gadget and Aruna in your comments below, it would be much appreciated!**

**Anyway, once again, thanks for reading!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hunter: DS is sorry about the wait. She is also sorry that she couldn't be here in person to tell you this, but she is too busy dancing like a dying whale and trying to get rid of excess energy. DS would also like me to say that now she WILL be answering reviews if you have any questions in regards to the plot or characters.**

**Sky: DS is sorry if anyone's feelings were hurt because they were not being thanked or felt annoyed that they weren't getting the appreciation that you guys really do deserve for being such loyal readers.**

**Adian: Anyway, on to the story!**

**Shade and James: Thank you for clicking this link!**

**All: ENJOY!**

James POV:

I stared at the two people in front of me. Gadget and Aruna. What kind of names are those? I really didn't like the looks of the situation that Hunter and I had landed ourselves in. We were stuck in another dimension or something with two people who were obviously not human.

"Too true you are!" Aruna began, smiling, right next to me.

"We _aren't _human~" Gadget said, giggling, from the other side. Both were leaning down close to me.

"Did you just read my mind!?"

"No, you were muttering to yourself. We just moved closer to hear you." It was then I noticed Hunter right in front of my face, really close. I mean, really close. Like, _really close. _Is it hot in here to anyone else? Is that just me? It must have been the light, but Hunter looked rather red.

My face flushed, I sputtered stupidity in order to preserve even just a little bit of dignity.

"Hehe~ Too late for that!" The twins said at the same time. I face faulted. I guess I really need to work on keeping my inner thoughts _inside. _

"Yep, you really do." Hunter commented.

DAMN!

"Language, young man!" Aruna giggled.

I think I'm just gonna stop thinking right now.

"Anyway, the little man-child was right. My sister and I are not human! Instead, we are a type of Elf. Puppet Elves, to be precise!" Gadget clapped happily.

"Now, we heard about your little problem with the Ball-Jointed Dolls~" Aruna scowled, crossing her arms.

"You see, we don't like the dolls."

"Too away our only friends, Sammy and Allen, they did."

"Turned them into dolls, cursed to forever sing that cursed song, to dance, waiting for their next victim."

"Only, you didn't turn into them."

"The little man-child is very obvious. He is human, therefor, he is weak~"

"And the silly dolls don't believe he is worth their time!"

Insert loud complaint from James and a head smacking, courtesy of Hunter.

"The little vixen* is less obvious."

"Our guess is because she was too scared to really listen to the song."

"After all, Ball-Jointed Dolls are really scary to her~"

"Their power lies in their voice! Lala lala~" Gadget spun around here.

"So my sweet little brother and I have decided to help you!"

"You see, we have finally found a way to reverse the Dolls song~!"

"But we can't preform it."

"It interferes with our own powers." Aruna waved her remote around at her twin's words.

"So we need help~"

"And you guys are our first candidates!"

Hunter and I looked at them blankly. Hunter summed up pretty much everything I was thinking into one word.

"Huh?"

Aruna rolled her eyes but Gadget just giggled.

"We mean, we have a bone to pick with the Dolls, and so do you. We found a way to reverse the curse, and we are offering to help you. We can't do the counter spell 'cause it would hurt us, but you can! So, if you want to get your friends back, we guys are gonna have to do it!" Gadget explained once again, smile never fading.

"Does this guy ever stop smiling?" I whispered to Hunter, who just shrugged.

"Do you have a problem with my brother smiling?" Aruna had a dangerous edge to her voice and the room dropped a few degrees. The walls suddenly went black and glowing green lines were the only things lighting the room, casting eerie shadows across her face.

I felt the blue roll down my face and Hunter put her hands up in a sign of surrender. Gadget still hadn't stopped smiling and he placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. "I'm sure they didn't mean anything by it! Relax~"

Aruna heaved a big sigh and the room brightened once more. "Oh, fine. But only because you asked!" Gadget just smiled even wider, if possible, and wrapped his arms around his sister.

She smiled a half smile and returned the motion, hugging him a bit tighter, as if trying to block everyone else out to protect her little brother.

"This…feels a bit awkward…" Hunter face faulted and looked away. I nodded. "Annyway, about that plan… We'll do it." I said firmly. I missed Shade, Vector, Sky, and Adian, even if I argued with most of them. ***Chough*** Shade ***Chough***

"Yay!" Gadget clapped happily and spun around. Aruna simply smirked and crossed her arms. "Well then, we'll have to test something."

"Don't move-"

"And it won't hurt. Move-"

"And you might just die."

"We haven't tried our remotes on humans yet-"

"But half-breeds we can do fine. However-"

"We haven't done this in a while."

"So stay still!" They finished together, right before pulling out the remotes we had seen before.

"Don't think that'll be much of a problem. James here has frozen in fear." Hunter said, smirking and patting my shoulder.

"No, I'm not afraid, I just can't…control… my body…" I grunted, struggling to move my arm. Gadget giggled and pressed a few more buttons. I stepped forward and spun around. "AH! What's this? My body isn't listening to my mind! Hunter, hel-" And then my mouth zipped shut and I couldn't speak.

Hunter wouldn't have been able to help anyway, as it seemed she couldn't respond either.

"That's cause you are under our control~" Aruna and Gadget's voice sounded more robotic and the blue wires wrapped around them were glowing bright, casting shadows, making Gadget's smile look more insane than childish.

I was forced to walk to the chairs. I sat down in one and cables appeared, locking me in place. Hunter was in much the same predicament. Suddenly feeling rushed back into my body, making me dizzy for a few moments.

"Ugh, head rush." Hunter groaned.

Gadget stepped in front on me and patted my head. "Now, now~ Don't worry, we aren't going to kill you are anything. We simply need to inject you with a liquid. Seeing as you wouldn't agree to it if you were free, we had to do this." He chuckled and stepped away.

"Why didn't you do it when we were under your voodoo powers?" Hunter snapped, spitting on the ground.

Aruna laughed. "They aren't voodoo powers! These remotes allow us to take control over your body for as long as we want. However, the remotes themselves are very different."

"Aruna's has invisible strings that extend from the edges, making her victim a marionette puppet. She can control two ways. Either by moving the remote like one would the top of the wood cross on a puppet, or the buttons."

"Gadget's is more metal than physical. The remote exerts a sound wave that no one but him can hear. It wraps around the mind like a blanket, and though you can't hear it, you can't help but move to the music~! The buttons on his remote change the sound and therefor control the victim!"

"After all, we are Puppet Elves!"

"That's all fine and dandy, but why are you telling us this?" Hunter growled, still struggling against her bonds.

Aruna shrugged. "We trust you. We want to trust you." She looked down. "This whole thing is balanced on that fact. If we don't share that then we might die, and we really can't have that!"

"… That was deep…" I deadpanned.

Gadget simply smiled.

"Now, onto the main event!" He said and with unnecessary flourish he pressed a button. A rather large laser emerged from the floor in front of us. Yea, it was really large. Like, REALLY large. And it was pointed straight at us.

Gadget laughed.

"You are having _**way **_too much fun right now." Hunter face faulted.

He just shrugged, smile still in place.

I just looked at the laser for a while.

I would like to say that I reacted with a calm and cool demeanor, that I had expected something like this and was completely prepared. I would really love to say that. But that would be a complete lie. It really when something like this:

"HOLY FRICKEN' CRAP THAT IS A HUGE LASER! YOU ARE PHYCOPATHS! AND YOU EXPECT ME TO TRUST YOU WHEN YOU'RE POINTING THIS THING AT ME!? WELL, I'LL THELL YOU RIGHT NOW, I'M NOT FEELING VERY TRUSTING AT THIS MOMENT!" I screamed. Then I did a very good impression of a dying whale/cow, as Hunter will later tell me, when I attempted an escape.

"Well, while this is very entertaining, we have to get this show on the road. Hold still…" Aruna called and she leveled the gun at me.

I blanched and stared to squirm. "Get that thing away from me!" I yelled, my voice ragged from all the shouting I did earlier. "Oh, don't be such a baby! You wanna look macho in front of your girlfriend, don't cha?" Gadget teased me.

The reaction was immediate. We both flushed dark red and started sputtering our objections. Aruba took that moment to fire.

It didn't hurt, it just felt cold. Really, really cold.

I pried open my eyes and saw blackness. Then I could hear something.

The screeching of tires and soft _thunk_ of metal hitting flesh filled my ears. I heard people screaming, but one stood out from the rest.

"_DAD! DADDY! NO! Stop it! What are you doing?"_

I had a very good idea who's voice that was. What I didn't get was _why. Why was I being forced to relive this? Why was I being subjected to this horror?_

Just as suddenly as it hit, everything vanished and I gasped out, as if I had been holding my breath for a long time. Who knows? Maybe I had. I first thing I realized was the feeling of water running down my face. I was crying. The second was Hunter's worried calls. I turned my head and tried to compose myself. I didn't need to, as she looked just as bad as I did.

For a second I considered asking her what she saw. But I didn't. I didn't want to reopen hidden wounds. God knows that I knew how much it hurt. (A/N What? You couldn't have really thought I wasn't gonna put _any _angst in it? Hehe~)

"I'm fine, Hunter." I reassured her, even if I didn't look the part. "You?"

"GOD no, I'm not ok! Do you _know _how horrifying that was? Of cores I'm not _ok_!" I face faulted at her response. Should have known. If she's going down, so is everyone else.

"But I'm more worried about you. You really don't look ok. For the love of god, James, you're CRYING! What am I supposed to do?" I smiled slightly. I guess Hunter does care, in her own weird way.

"No need to worry. I'm fine." I reassured her. A loud laugh came from in front of me and I turned my head to see Aruna, laughing at our misery.

"What's so funny, annoyance?" Hunter asked harshly. Gadget looked over and said, "Young love at its finest~" Before giggling again.

Hunter and I turned beet red, looked at each other and quickly looked away. I couldn't help but notice that the lighting in here had really lit up her pretty mercury eyes, and her hair looked soft as silk… (A/N Oh, lord I can't believe I just wrote that. God help me.) My eyes widened. What was I thinking? Hunter was my friend, and I shouldn't think of her like that!

I quickly realized that the bonds holing us were undone and I stood up fast, eager to get away from the sudden tension.

Hunter got up as well and turned to Aruna and Gadget. "Can we go now?" She asked softly, still red in the face.

Gadget giggled and pressed a few buttons. The world around us shimmered and warped, and suddenly we were standing in the night-shrouded forest again.

Aruna and Gadget smiled in a way that was not at all comforting.

"Let's begin~"

***Tosses keyboard away* DONE! Hope you enjoyed this slightly longer chapter! Please review and I will try my best to answer any questions!**

***A vixen is a female fox**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello again. Still no new reviews. Ah, well. I guess I'll keep writing for any of you still enjoying this story of mine. This time, I'm trying something new; please let me know if you like it. If, you know, anyone reviews. Hint, hint, wink, wink.**

**Don't own 'The Willow Maid' by Erutan or 'You Are My Sunshine' by Elizabeth Mitchell.**

Shade POV (Third person):

She was standing in her old home. It was exactly as she remembered, pristine white floors glinting in the moonlight, the quite murmur of running water from the bathroom as her mother washed her hair, the perfectly manicured plants swaying lightly in the slight breeze coming out of the AC vent.

"Shade, honey, bring me a towel please," A sickly sweet voice floated out from the bathroom.

"Yes ma'am." A tired, timid sound was swallowed in the vastness of the room. A tiny Shade scampered across the floor and passed right through the real her as if she wasn't really there.

'_Well, I guess that should have been a given.'_ Shade thought, snarky even to herself. _'This is only a memory, after all.' _She followed the Minnie-Her into the next room.

Minnie-Shade was handing her mother a towel as the taller woman stepped out of the ridiculously tall shower.

Shade's mother truly was beautiful, with sleek, silky black hair that cascaded gracefully down her back, her eyes like pools of liquid amethyst, unlike her daughters completely black ones _(Cursed eyes)_. Her skin was pale, not sickly, porcelain white, unlike her offspring's tan _(Devil's skin). _

"Oh, my sweet, sweet, child! Sing for your mother!" She cried in her lovely voice.

Minnie-Shade nodded numbly.

'_A young man walked through the forest, with his quiver and hunting bow. He heard a young girl singing and followed the sound below. There he found the Maiden, who lives in the Willow. He called to her as he listened, from a ring of toadstools red. 'Come with me, my maiden. Come from thy Willow bed.' She looked at him serenely, and only shook her head._

'_See me now, a ray of light in the Moon Dance, see me now, I cannot leave this place. Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest. Don't ask me to follow where you lead.'_

_A young man walked through the forest, with an axe sharp as a knife. "I'll take the green-eyed fairy, and she shall be my wife. With her I'll raise my children, with her I'll live my life." The Maiden wept when she heard him, when he said her set her free._

_He took his axe and used it to bring down her ancient tree. "Now your Willows fallen, now you belong to me."_

'_See me now, a ray of light in the Moon Dance, see me now, I cannot leave this place. Hear me now, a strain of song in the forest. Don't ask me to follow where you lead.'_

_She followed him out the forest and collapsed upon the earth. Her feet had walked but a distant from the green land of her birth. She faded into a flower that would bloom for one bright eve. He could not take from the forest, what was never meant to leave…'_

Her mother had tears falling down her cheeks, a smile still set on her face. "Oh, it was beautiful my darling! Absolutely beautiful!" She wept.

The praise did not fill Shade up with joy as it had back then.

Now she could see the broken glass in her mothers gaze, now she could see the emptiness in the smile she wore. Now she could see why she was left in the first place.

Her mother had never been the same after her father left. She had gone somewhere Shade simply could not follow. Everyday Shade had to endure the teasing from classmates and the glares of neighbors and teachers. Everyday she came home to the hollow shell of her mother, to the vast coldness of her large home.

The days had fallen into a tired, boring cycle, and it was almost a relief when her ears and tails appeared. It gave her something new and exiting in her life. It was great, well; it was until her mother kicked her out.

Her mother simply couldn't take it anymore. Her mind completely snapped, she shoved Shade out the door, yelling hurtful things after her, and she didn't give her anytime to pack.

A couple weeks later, Shade heard that her mother had killed herself. 

The next couple of months had been hard and grueling, but against all odds, she had come out on top. Vector, 1 year her senior, had found her and taken her to headquarters, where she had met Hunter, Adian, and Sky. Things had been looking up.

Then James had fallen in like a little ball of condensed energy and annoyance, sucker punched her with reality, and then eel-slapped her with life. Yea, not good.

Now she was stuck on a death-quest to stop Ibles, keep from getting killed by Fireclan, and, of cores, she had fallen under the spell of the Ball-Jointed Dolls.

The memories faded, and she was left in vast blackness. She reached out with her mind and found a string of white light. She grabbed it and was pulled into a vortex of memories.

_Screams, pain, begging, 'Stop, stop!', cold, guilt, lonely, so very lonely, hurt, pain, pain, pain, drunken slurs, glass breaking, blood, so much blood, STOP!_

Shade was left gasping as the whirlpool spit her out.

"What… was _that_?" She rasped out. She didn't have anytime to compensate it, because soon she was pulled into the light.

She came to on the ground, the sounds of fighting all around her. She opened her eyes to the canopy of the forest and Hunter's worried face hovering over her.

Shade screamed and punched her in the nose. Hunter fell back groaning. "Yep, we're all good over here!" She shouted. There was a sound of answer from her right.

Shade sat up and look around. She was flanked by two people she didn't know. They had had identical heads of blond hair, with wires wrapped around them glowing bright. They were pushing fast on remotes in their hands. A group of dolls seemed to be following the order of which the buttons were pressed. Shade decided not to dwell on it too much.

"Oh, god, Shade! You _are _alive, right?" Hunter said worriedly, scrambling over to her side once again. Shade nodded and pressed a hand to her head.

"I'm fine. How about you?" Hunter gave a smile that made Shade really regret asking.

"Oh, I've never been better!" She cried, clapping her hand like she did when she got exited. "I've been out here, killing dolls and pounding faces!" Shadows cast across her face made Hunter look a bit scarier than she really had the right to look.

She jumped to her feet and hauled Shade up as well. "I'm guessing you want revenge for being used, so have at 'em~" Hunter snickered.

Shade smirked. "You know me so well." She and Hunter slapped hands and took off into the fray.

# # #

The middle of the battle found Shade kneeling in front of Doll-Vector, with James on her left, Hunter flanked to the right, and Adian and Sky standing behind them, guarding from attacks.

James placed his hands on Vector's cool forehead and shut his eyes tightly. A faint green glow shone from underneath the clasped hands. Slowly, color started to return to Vector's face and the ball joints were replaced with regular human ones. Tear tracks started to show on his face and took a shuddering gasp before his eyes snapped open. The normally bright green orbs were dulled and glittering with unshed tears. A sob tore from his throat that broke Shade's heart, and before she could stop herself, she had wrapped him in a hug, tears of her own leaked down, wetting a spot on Vector's dirt stained shirt.

_You are my sunshine, my only sunshine._

_You make me happy when skies are gray._

_You'll never know, dear, how much I love you, so please don't take my sunshine away._

The song her mother had sung to her back before she had gone insane randomly started playing in her head, and she blushed, nestling her red face deeper into Vector's shoulder.

He patted her back, gasping out, "Good to see you, too, Shade. But I can't…. breath!" The patting turned into thumps as he ran out of breath. She hurriedly let go and sat back on her knees. Hunter and James snickered in the background and Shade turned even redder, if possible.

"Eh, what're you doing?!" Aruna shouted from over yonder.

"We _are_ kind've in the middle of a battle, you guys!" Gadget giggled, happily decapitating a doll. He waded through a couple more, only to stop suddenly with a strangled scream.

Everyone whipped around and Aruna charged over to her little brother. Hunter and James blanched as they looked over. Gone was the smile that always adorned Gadget's face, replaced by something akin to heartache and pain.

He was facing a boy Ball Jointed Doll with unruly black hair and dulled golden eyes. The boy had on a ragged purple shirt with a black jacket draped over, tattered jeans hanging off his skinny frame. Instead of the normal pale white color of most of the dolls, this boy had skin one shade darker than olive.

Gadget gasped out one word. "S-Sammy…"

Then Aruna was there. She brought her hand down on Sammy's neck, only for him to move with amazing agility, spinning away to face her. She charged him again, and he brought his hands up in a defensive stance. Aruna spun and brought her foot crashing down on his raised arms. She let out a hiss of pain and jumped back. This time, Sammy took the first move and in the blink of an eye, had sent Aruna flying back into a tree. She stumbled to her feet, disoriented and blinking tears out of her eyes. In the time it took for her to clear out her eyes, Sammy had moved on to her brother, who was still in shock. She let out a terrible cry and shot forward, faster than Sammy had moved. The boy didn't have a chance and soon he was lying on the forest floor, unmoving.

"You didn't kill him, right?" Hunter whispered. She had seen many Dolls die today, and while she didn't feel that strongly about it, even enjoyed it, she felt an unfamiliar tug on her heartstrings when she looked at the collapsed figure of Sammy and Gadget kneeling beside him.

While she may not have known the kid for long, she still respected and even-dare she say it- cared for him. Gadget may have had his own weird quirks, but that was what made him cool. He was a refreshingly new and exiting, and for some reason, she had grown attached, treating him like her own kin, with almost as much love she shared for her real little brother.

Hunter glanced over at Adian, and saw the same look of concern on his face. Besides as few cuts, he looked pretty good for someone who had just come back from the dead, in a sense.

"Oh, gods, no." A snort form Aruna jerked her back to the present. "Sammy has only been a Ball-Jointed Doll for about three months. There's still a chance we can bring him back to the light." A light dimmed in her eyes. "The same can't be said for Allen though. She's long gone."

"Actually, she's right here~"

A sudden gasp of pain left Aruna's lips and she spat up blood. She looked down at the metal point of a sword peeking through her chest. It was removed with a wet _shink_ and Aruna stumbled forward a few steps before collapsing, blood pooling around her lifeless body.

Gadget screamed.

Shade could do nothing but watch as Aruna's murderer advanced on Gadget. However, James had been moving and during the time that Aruna knocked out Sammy to the time she was killed, he had made his way over to Sammy and pored all his strength into reviving him. Sammy's eyes flew open, no longer dulled and shining like two bright pieces of gold, and his paled skin returned to its darker-than-olive coloring. He had jumped up and into action as soon as the girl with hair as white as moonlight raised her sword above Gadget's head.

Sammy shot forwards and scooped up Gadget in his arms, bridle-style and dodged the sharp point of bloodied metal as gravity pulled it down.

"You _will not _touch him, Allen." Sammy spat. Gadget looked up in wonder at his savior, smiled, and went limp. This spurred Hunter, Shade, Vector, Sky, and Adian into action, and while Shade, Sky, and Vector went to take on Allen, Hunter and Adian ran over to James and propped him against a tree, where he lay, panting for breath after exerting so much energy into bringing Sammy back.

"Adian, stay here and look after him," Hunter said to her brother, who, with a protest on his lips, agreed after seeing the raw desperation in her silver eyes. "Right. Right, you can count on me, sister," He placed a hand on Hunter's shoulder. "Go and avenge your friend."

Hunter smirked. "Time to test out the new toys she had given me." She whispered, and with the next gust of the wind, was gone.

Shade had attacked Allen, and sparks flew as kantana and long sword clashed. Vector kept Allen off balance by sending Blizzard into the battle and ordering her to scratch at Allen's face, arms, whatever she could. However, Vector was tiring fast and wouldn't be able to keep up the pace for long. Sky had started a wind storm and was flying high above the battle, pushing Shade up when she fell and shoving the winds against Allen to slow her down, but soon she fell out of the sky and into Adian's arms. He sat her next to James and continued to fight off Ball-Jointed Dolls.

Hunter had climbed up into a tree, tails waving behind her, and her hand guns had transformed into a rifle, a trick Aruna had shown her, and she shot from a safe distance away until she could get into the battle. (She looked at Aruna's fallen body and rage fueled her ammo, until her bullets would shoot with such a force they would leave a crater where ever they hit, demolishing ten Dolls in one shot, but it seemed that with every ten destroyed, twenty took their place.)

Sammy had placed Gadget high in the boughs of the trees and rejoined the fight. _Gadget, Gadget, Gadget _repeated in his head like a mantra, and he would fight for him, he would fight for his fallen sister, he would _fight, fight, fight, _and he wouldn't stop, and he couldn't stop, pain and resentment and loneliness all merged in his gut, like giant fire waiting to be released, and by God, he would release it, he wouldn't leave a single despicable Doll left alive, he would kill them. They took all he had away for him, so he would return the favor.

Shade was tiring fast. She knew in the back of her mind she would fall soon. Shade was running out options and she would have to draw her Black Kantana if she wanted to win this fight. But, did she really want to win? Didn't she really just want to stop, to lay down, to let death take her in its dark, welcoming, twisted embrace? Isn't that what she really wanted? The memories from her time as a Ball-Jointed Doll replayed over and over, and they wouldn't leave her alone, and it wasn't just her memories, it was the new ones, the ones that whispered of a life that was lost to darkness too soon, of a flame that was snuffed out, of a broken, twisted, warped mind, of the blood and pain and tears that were given to make that person who they were, to form a new mold, and of loss and misery. They weighed down on her and every clash, every strike, every mad laugh that left her opponent's mouth; they all hit her hard and hurt more than a cut of that long sword.

But no. She did want to win, she did want to save her friends, for if they died and she lived, was Shade's miserable existence even worth living? Her friends faces flashed in her minds eye, Hunter, Adian, Vector, Sky, James, even Gadget, Sammy, and Aruna-_poor, poor Aruna-_ they all were there, they were all shouting their encouragement, they all believed in her, and she'd be damned if she let them down.

She drew her cured blade.

**Ooo, cliffy!**

**Hope you enjoyed the new take of this chapter. I got kinda tired of writing in first person, so I decided to give this style a go. I think it turned out pretty well, but please tell me what you think in the comments below!**

**In other news, sorry about of the angsty chapter! I was in the mood for some good pain, though, and I rather like how it turned out~ Anyway, yes, there will be some BL in this story, and if you have a problem with it, **_**go away. **_**I WILL NOT change it, so any and all complaints will fall on deaf ears.**

**As always, praise is loved, constructive criticism is enjoyed, and flams will be ignored! **


	17. Ramblings

_**PLEASE**__** DON'T IGNORE THIS!**_

**Help, guys.**

**I'm getting no reviews, (except the lovely Guest, who reviewed once on my last chapter) and I'm slowly losing the will to write. To you Fanfic writes out there reading this, you know what I'm talking about. Have you ever started a fic, then no one reviewed and you thought it just wasn't good enough and kinda just stopped? If you haven't, let me tell you, it is **_**not **_**a pleasant experience.**

**Also, I have absolutely ZERO creative inspiration right now. I want to do something with Missy and the Fireclan team, but I just don't know **_**what. **_**I have consulted with my friend and she has helped a lot, (keeping me from quitting Kitsune) and for the sake of her privacy, we'll just call her…. Wolf. Anyway, Wolf and I talked for a while, and we came up with a couple good ideas, but I still can't really bring myself to sit down at the computer and put in any effort into the chapter, because I don't know if anyone is reading! I mean, I know Wolf is and will, but I still can't help but feel a little saddened at the fact that I could be writing for no one right now…**

**Even if no one says anything, or if you just kind of ignore this, I'll still try to add more chapters for anyone still enjoying this train wreak of a story.**

**I'm really, really sorry if I sound like I'm wining and complaining, but right now I just need some reassurance. I haven't been getting a lot of that away from Wolf (I really do appreciate you, Wolf, trust me) and I'm getting teased for my temper at school, and right now, I'm just at a rough spot in my life, and it's really annoying 'cause I **_**HATE **_**being depressed, it's so boring, and this got really sad really quick.**

**Anyway, thanks for any support I can get, even if this might as well be ignored.**

**Bye.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello! ****I see a couple people reviewed~ Thanks so much!**

**Guest- Aww! I'm glad you liked it! I think I'm going to stick with third person and that type of writing style for as long as I can!**

**The Curse of Fates- Thank you SOOO much for the support! I'm really glad you like this story! I'll try not to let the lack of reviews keep me down and continue this story, but I'm one of those authors that, quite literally, lives off reviews. I need feed back, good or bad, to keep on doing what I'm doing.**

**Iris flower- I am SO, SO, SO happy! Like, really ecstatic that you think this story is amazing! THANK YOU! And yes, I totally agree with you. Rick Rordan is the devil in an angels disguise…**

**Night's Shadow- I know who you are~~~ Thank you so much for never giving up on me and keeping me going!**

**Anyway, this one is going to be rather short, but I hope you like it anyway! Also, its going to focus on character development for Gadget (hopefully) in the beginning, but soon its gonna focus on the original ones again. I just really love Gadget, ok? One of my proudest creations~**

**Moving on to the chapter.**

No ones POV third person:

The change was immediate. The temperature dropped and darkness fell, even though it was the middle of the afternoon and the sun should have been shining. Shadows pulled towards Shade and black marks appeared on her skin. They twisted and winded up Shade's body, snaking like vines of ivy climbing up the tree, slowly killing it.

Her black kantana was wreathed in shadows and, unlike her white kantana that glowed with the power of a pale star; it shimmered with the hatred of a poisoned moon. When Shade's eyes opened they were no longer black with white souls, no, they glared a powerful, horrible, terrifying violet.

The earth around her trembled and cracked, and only Hunter understood what was happening. She quickly turned her rifle into handguns again, sheathed them and jumped down from the tree she was residing in.

"Adian! Sammy! Vector! Grab Sky, James, and Gadget. We have to get away. Fast." She spoke with so much conviction; there was no room for argument. As soon as the others were gathered, it was Adian who asked, "What about Aruna?" There was so much pain in Hunter's expression, he wished he hadn't asked.

"There is nothing more we can do for her." Hunter said flatly. "She's dead. And we will be too if we don't get out NOW."

"What?! I am not going to leave with out her!" Sammy cried. "She was like a sister to me and if you-"

"I KNOW." Hunter suddenly shouted. "If there was anything I could do, trust me, I would do it. But that sword most definitely punctured a lung and broke ribs. Would you really risk the life of her brother and my friends for a lost cause? WOULD YOU?! She's DEAD, Sammy." A sob burst forth. "Dead."

Vector and Adian looked to the ground and Sammy clutched Gadget tighter to him. "Can you at least promise me that there will be a body to return to?" He whispered, almost inaudible over Shade's rising anger.

Hunter looked to him despairingly. "I'm not making a promise I might not be able to keep. Let's go."

And so, tears in their eyes, the group ran. They ran and they ran, further and further, away from the army of Ball-Jointed Dolls, away from Shade's overpowering hatred, and away from Aruna.

They ran, not knowing what else to do.

#$#$

_It played over and over, like a messed up, painful, bloody song._

_Allen, laughing and smiling with him, Sammy, and Aruna. They had been playing tag and were out of breath, and they all fell to the ground in a circle, the grass so green and the sun shining above them._

_He looked over at Sammy and felt his breath catch in his throat. Sammy looked so wild and free, black hair moving in the soft breeze, gold eyes bright with happiness and skin slightly flushed. He looked amazing._

_Suddenly, he disappeared. It was so sudden, Gadget had to blink to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. But, no, Sammy was gone. The grass was no longer green, the sun no longer shining. Storm clouds had covered the sun and the grass had burned, leaving nothing but dead, brown stalks._

_A scream cut from behind him. He spun around in time to see his sister cut down once again, blood spurting forth and onto his person. Aruna's green eyes seemed to ask, '_Why? Why didn't you help me? This is your fault. You did nothing and stood back and watched me die. Why, why, why?'_ She landed with a thud and her lifeblood pooled around her, staining the earth red. Allen stood above her, laughing wickedly. She turned to him, white hair swishing and burgundy eyes glinting maliciously as she advanced upon him._

'Your entire fault. Your entire fault. Never forget it. It's all because of you. Your fault. Your fault.'

_NO! No, no, no, no. It wasn't my fault! It wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't!_

_He tried to run but his feet were frozen, he tried to scream, there was no sound. In his head, voices echoed, repeating, over and over until he believed it. _Yes, it was his fault. He deserved to die. It was all because of him. It was his entire fault.

_Allen cackled gleefully as she raised her sword and brought it down on his head._

_Blood spattered and Gadget fell to the ground, dead._

A loud crack woke up almost everyone in the group.

"What is it? What happened?" Sky shouted, immediately up on her feet, Sammy soon joining her, as well as Vector and Adian. Hunter was a bit less graceful, stumbling up onto her feet half awake before staggering like a drunk and falling back into a heap on the ground. She groaned pathetically and stood up once again, clutching her nose. James simply snored and rolled over on his side, asleep once again.

Hunter glared at the boy and kicked him in the face. No reaction. Her eye twitched. Hunter took her handgun and shot a couple rounds into the dirt next to his face. James murmured in his sleep and started to cuddle Hunter's leg. Red-faced, Hunter swung her leg with all her might and James flew off into a tree. He hit the ground and finally woke up.

"Oh, hey. What's up?" He yawned, still looking sleepy. There were multiple loud smacks as face met palm.

"Oh, did I wake you up?" A sleepy murmur came from the group's right. Gadget had looked up, a broken branch in hand, and hair out of its normal ponytail, hanging down around his neck, but one stubborn piece of blond hair stuck straight up in a cowlick. Sammy's face went a rather interesting shade of red and he quickly shed his jacket and placed it around Gadget's shoulders to cover up showing skin. (Gadget had taken off his own coat before going to sleep.) Hunter watched the interaction with a wide, sly grin.

"Uh, yea. If I may ask, why are you holding a broken tree branch in your hand?" Adian asked carefully.

"I was angry so I tore if off the tree and killed it." Gadget said simply, grinning, though it seemed a little strained.

"Why were you angry?"

Gadget smile turned a little bit darker and shadows covered his bright blue eyes, so that there was only a glimmer of color. He slowly turned his head to face Adian. "I do believe that's none of your business~" He gave a creepy laugh. "Wouldn't you say?"

Adian turned as white as a bed sheet. "Y-Yes, sir!" He squeaked out. And just like that, the shadows disappeared and Gadget was smiling a bit more easily.

The crunch of leaves interrupted them and they all swung their heads to the sound. Shade stumbled forward out of the forest and collapsed upon the earth. It seemed that she was completely out of steam and shadows seeped out of her body like water.

"Shade!" Vector cried out, running to her side. He turned her onto her back and picked her up bridal-style and carried her over to the group.

"Is she ok?"

"Horry sheet-"

"Can-you-hear-me?"

"Giant muffins-"

"She's dead-"

"And then-"

"SHUT UP!"

James slapped a hand over Hunter's-and his own-mouth. Muffled curses fell from her mouth and she tugged on his hand, annoyed.

"Thank you." Vector sighed. He walked over to his discarded lab coat and laded Shade gently on top. Sammy walked over and plopped down in an ungraceful heap across from Vector and leaned over Shade. "Hey, is she going to be ok? She looks really pale and, uh, she's kind of smoking…" He observed carefully.

Adian stepped next to him and crossed his arms. "That's just residue negative energy from her Black Katana, or _Kuro_, as she calls it."

"That's 'Black' in Japanese, right?" Sammy questioned.

"Yep. Her other one is _Shiro_, or 'White'. They were gifts from Anko when she first arrived. _Shiro _is all the positive energy and _Kuro _is the negative energy. As Shade is our resident Balance controller, she can't have one without the other. However, _Kuro's _power is overwhelming, and hard to control. Shade has been using them for 10 years, maybe, and she still has little to no control over it. _Shiro _is almost equally hard to use, but Shade harnessed its power fairly easily. Now, she rarely ever uses _Kuro _without good reason. I bet if we go back to the battlegrounds, there will be nothing there. I mean _nothing. _It would be as if no one had never stepped foot on the leaves. There would just be the dark, prickling, cold stench of death." Adian's ears flattened to his skull and he grit his teeth. "It's been years since I've seen _Kuro's _power, but it's still just as frightening as the first time."

Sammy said nothing.

"Lets get some sleep." Sky whispered softly to the silent air.

Hunter nodded and they all laid down, but not before Vector placed a soft kiss to Shade's forehead.

They didn't notice the eyes glinting evilly from the underbrush, or they might have placed a guard. They didn't feel the anger and hate radiating from the dark figure and they didn't see the flash of white and didn't hear the rustle of leaves as the extra shadow ran from its hiding place and into the night to plan its revenge.

What they did hear was the scream that pierced the air the next morning.

**All done~ Hope that chapter was to your satisfaction! Please review and don't kill me!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Yo! New chapter, but first, reviews~**

**Night's Shadows- You bet your sweet anime things are getting intense! And thanks so much for being there, Shadow, or should I say… WOLF! *****Dramatic music***** Ok, I'm done.**

**This chapter had mentions of torcher and self-harm, so if that disturbs you or is a trigger, know that you are reading at your own risk.**

**Please do not say I did not warn you.**

**Anyway, next chapter~**

Adian woke to a pounding headache and the feeling of cold chains around his wrist and ankles, keeping him from moving around. A quick check told him that he was gagged and everything hurt, from the new bruises on his neck to the…bleeding…cuts…wait…

Oh, crap.

Adian glanced down and confirmed that, yes; he was bleeding heavily from a lot of lacerations all down his chest and arms. And, worst of all, he was bleeding all over his favorite shirt! Granted, it was his only shirt and it was already torn and tattered beyond redemption, but, hey! A guy has to have a hobby, right? Besides, there was a really cool tear in it that looked like the Star Trek symbol… Adian liked that cut…

Anyway, on to more pressing matters, but really, Adian thought to himself, What could be more pressing than a Star Trek symbol tear?

Adian didn't even know if his thoughts were serious anymore. Not that they ever were.

He glanced around the room. It was dank and dark, so he couldn't really see anything, but what he did see disturbed him deeply. The walls of the room were made of brick and dark spots covered them. Dark spots that looked terribly like bloodstains. There were also more chains dangling from the ceiling, and one even had a rather fresh looking skeleton dangling from it.

Adian promptly lost the measly contents of his stomach. Luckily, he managed to barf a few centimeters in front of him, so it didn't hit his shirt. Instead it landed with a wet plop in front of his elevated legs.

There was a sharp clank of metal on metal and the sound of rock being scraped against. There were two sounds of feet, one limping along with an uneven gate, and the other stepping lightly across the ground.

One person stepped into Adian's line of sight and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and his jaw dropped open.

"M…Missy?!"

The rabbit-eared teen smirked evilly. She didn't look the same.

Her blond hair had thinned and now contained strokes of red, running down like blood. Her blue eyes had emptied and had shrunk to pin points. The white rabbit ears adorning her head had ripped and torn in many places, the right one almost cut off completely. But that wasn't the disturbing part.

She had cut her mouth wide open.

Missy had taken a knife to her lips and cut horizontal slits at the sides of her mouth. The wound was still bleeding slightly and the vital fluid ran down her chin, _drip, drip, dripping _onto the floor.

"Surprise~ Bet you thought you'd seen the last of me~" She cackled, insanity oozing from every pore on her body.

"W…what happened to you…?" Adian whispered, shuddering.

"What happened? WHAT HAPPENED?!" Missy screeched, anger burning from her soulless eyes. "You happened! You and your friends! You took him away from me! So, now, I took something of theirs! I took you and what was rightfully mine!"

By now Adian had completely frozen in fear. This was not Missy. This was something… something _wrong. Inhuman. Strange._

"Claude." Missy suddenly said sharply. The other man that had entered with her joined her.

He was muscle-bound and had close-shaved black hair. There was a long scar running the length of his face and part of his mouth was ripped, showing teeth. His legs were mismatched. One was metal and the other… the other was that of a donkey. The cloven hoof pounded the ground and cracked stone.

Adian had heard of Claude.

He was the warrior of the Fireclan team.

And he had no mercy.

#$#$

Vector spat out blood and glared at the rat of a man in front of him. The man- Robert- had a pinched face and tiny little eyes with gray hair. His companion had short blond hair in two spiky pigtails and a crazy smirk.

They were both part of the Fireclan team. He was the spy and she the sniper.

They had come in with Missy-or what used to be Missy. She had come up to him and caressed his face, whispering sweet nothings in his ear as he struggled to get away. But the chains held him fast and he could not escape when she pressed cold lips to his.

Vector snarled through bloodstained lips and growled, "Why are you doing this? Why do you follow her?"

Robert's smile grew ever larger and Vector was horribly reminded of Gadget, only this man was not Gadget, and he had every intention of hurting Vector.

"Why, you ask? Simply because I couldn't pass up the chance to experiment on new subjects, and our dear, dear leader was simply delighted to help! Now hold still, and this wont hurt a bit~ Well, it wont hurt me, that is!" He moved closer with his scalpel and probe, and started to cut down Vector's chest.

Vector screamed. He screamed and screamed and screamed until he could scream no longer. By then, there was a deep, long laceration pouring out blood. Just as Robert was about to begin again, the girl stopped him and shook her head slightly. "We don't want Missy getting angry at us for harming her prize."

Robert backed away, muttering, "Of course, of course." He packed up his things and looked over at the girl. "Well, what should we do?"

The girl's smile seemed impossibly wide. "Well, Claude is about to start, is he not? We'll just wait for that, let him listen, let him feel that he is completely useless, that he cannot save his friend~" She cackled.

"What do you mean? Who else is here?" Vector shouted at the duo. They simply shushed him and turned expectantly to the door.

Out of morbid curiosity, Vector turned his head as well and listened.

It started out faint, then grew ever louder until it echoed in his ears, over and over and over.

"NO! No, stop, please! STOP! It hurts, it hurts! HELP ME! SOMEONE HELP ME!" There was a sound like leather hitting flesh and the screams started anew.

And Vector knew who it was. "ADIAN! What are you doing to him?" Vector shouted at the door. Then he turned to the two standing in front of him. "What are they doing to my friend?!" He let out a guttural growl.

"Oh, I don't know. There are so many things that Claude could be doing! But it sounds like he's using his whip. He's always had a liking for that thing! I don't blame him, though~ Barbed on the end and electric if he so chooses~" The sniper giggled, lost in her fantasies.

Robert said nothing but every once in a while he would laugh quietly, and all Vector could do was hang there and listen to the pained pleads for help that was coming from no one.

#$#$

By the time Claude had finished, Adian was sobbing and shivering violently. His body was covered in cuts ranging from large to small and burns smoked, and he caught the smell of burning flesh coming from them.

Claude got in one last strike, but by now, Adian was all but numb to the pain. Then Claude left, leaving him alone with his thoughts, which wasn't much better.

'_Why did no one come? Why am I alone? I don't want to be alone. I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE! Someone help me, someone find me, some one kill me! It hurts so bad, why does it hurt so much? Why, why, why? What did I do to deserve this? Why, why, why?'_

Adian took a deep, shuddering breath and struggled to calm down. He stared at the ground and timed the drops of blood and tears, marking where they landed and tried to pull his mind to somewhere safe.

_He was with his friends and there were all sitting around a large oak tree, laughing and smiling at a joke he just told. Vector pulled out Blizzard and started to tinker with her gears. Hunter and Shade wrestled playfully on the ground while Gadget and Sammy watched and placed bets. Sky lay down on the ground and peered up at the braches of the oak, swaying in the breeze. James had gathered a bunch of little rocks and was in the middle of constructing a tower._

_Adian felt a grin split his face and ran to join them. Only, he couldn't move his feet. He tried calling out, but his voice wouldn't work. Suddenly the picture was splattered with blood and his friends were dead, eyes unseeing._

_Missy rounded the tree and cackled madly. She looked straight at him, seeming to say, "Look! Look how weak you are! You couldn't even lift a finger to help your own friends! Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic!" Her eyes seemed to swallow him whole, the blood dripping from her mouth filled his ears until it was all he could hear, and he was falling, falling, falling._

_There was no end, no bottom, no stop. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt._

"_No, no, no! Stop stop stop-"_

And he jerked awake.

Adian smiled sardonically. Looked like there was no safety, even in the realm of his mind.

The ache from his wounds pierced his side and he sighed.

He just wished it would all end.

**Done! Hope it wasn't too short, hope it raised some questions and hope didn't lose me any reviewers!**

**I know it was a bit dark, but the next chapter will be lighter, I promise! Which, you should know by now, amounts to about zilch…**

**I was simply in a rather dark mood when this was written!**

**I have also deiced that I really like writing from Adian's POV! I don't really know why, but there just seems like so much I can do with his character! Kinda strange, but, oh well!**

**Anyway, please comment with the little button down there!**


	20. Chapter 20

**I come bearing a new chapter!**

**I have decided to put the reviews at the end of the chapter, but do not despair! You will still get full recognition and you're reviews are very much appreciated!**

**Moving on, it's time for the chapter!**

"What! Where are they?" Gadget panicked, looking all around for some sign of the missing people.

"VECTOR? ADAIN? WHERE ARE YOU?!" Sky screamed, soaring above the canopy. "Where are they?" She whispered to herself, before turning sharply and gliding back to the temporary camp.

"I can't see them anywhere," Sky reported when she landed in front of Hunter who looked equal parts worried and furious.

"I swear to god, when I find out who took them, I will personally tear them limb from limb!" She snarled forcefully. Shade nodded and a dark aura erupted from both. James just kinda sat behind them; rocking back in forth, muttering, "Please don't hurt me…"

"Why would they hurt you, James?" Sammy asked. "It's not like you took them."

"I know. I'm Shade's punching bag when she's angry."

"Oh…"

By now, Shade had activated her tracking nose and was following a trail that lead about ten feet into the forest, but then just… stopped. Like it had never been there in the first place. Shade let out a frustrated scream when she was once again led to a dead end. "WHERE ARE THEY?" She yelled, punching the ground. Sky put a hand on Shade's shoulder to calm her, but Shade shoved her off and growled, "Why don't you actually help us? What have you been doing this whole time? Just flying around at your leisure?"

Sky looked taken aback, and her eyes hardened and turned icy. "Is that really what you think?"

Shade looked rather surprised that Sky had asked this. "Yes it is. Otherwise I wouldn't have said it, right?" She snarled out, standing up and facing Sky, ears shoved forward and tail bristled.

"I can't believe this. You honestly think that I would waste time on my desires while our friends? What do you take me for, Shade? A selfish brat? I'm not the same person I was two years ago!"

"Really? Because it sure seems you haven't changed at all! Your still a pathetic, whiny loser with no one to rely on!" Shade shouted, pulling at her hair.

"Shade!" Hunter interjected sharply.

"Stay out of it, Hunter." Sky growled slightly. "You know, Shade, it hurts to know you still think of me in that way. I thought that we agreed to help each other though the hard times! Or have you forgotten? Are you following your mother down that path of insanity?"

"What is she talking about?" James whispered to Gadget, who shrugged, eyes trained on the dueling girls.

"DON'T BRING MY MOTHER INTO THIS, SKY!" Shade screamed, raising her fists. At this point, Hunter had decided that this needed to stop.

"Sammy, help me," She called over to the frozen boy. Sammy snapped out of his trance and grabbed Shade's arms, holding her in place as she struggled against him, screaming bloody murder. Hunter was in much the same predicament, arms locked around Sky's whole body so that her wings couldn't slap her in the face.

"Calm down, you two!" Gadget cried, helping Sammy restrain the struggling she-wolf. "Never! She insulted me and my mother! She deserves to die!" Shade howled, canines flashing.

"Nobody is killing anybody!" James shouted, catching everyone's attention. He marched in between Shade and Sky and placed his hands on his hips, looking very much like a disapproving mom. "What has gotten into both of you? Arguing is going to get us nowhere! We keep pointing fingers, and Vector and Adian are no closer to being found. This is helping no one! I cannot believe both of you. I am ashamed of both of you. Now, either suck it up and help us find our friends, or get lost!" He finished, glaring at both of them.

There was a stunned silence.

"…Fine," Shade snorted, wrenching her arms out of Sammy and Gadget's now limp grip.

"I'll behave if _she_ does," Sky snarled, and Hunter backed up, hands in the air.

Sky and Shade stomped off in different directions, and the remaining of the group exchanged glances.

%^%^

"I'm still not over the fact that you told off Sky and Shade, but didn't get blown sky high!" Hunter exclaimed yet again.

"Really? I wasn't aware. It's not as though you have been saying the same exact thing for the past god knows how long!" James muttered sarcastically as he picked his way through the underbrush of the forest.

"Ok, I mean, I've been told off by Sky, and one time I blew up at Shade, but both at the same time? If I tried that, it wouldn't matter what I was! I would be killed! You probably wouldn't have been able to find what was left of my body for years!" Hunter continued on, either unaware of James's comment, or choosing to ignore it.

"Yes, yes, I get it, Hunter! But aren't we supposed to be looking for Adian and Vector?" James snapped, annoyed at how the conversation had kept pointing to him. His mom had simply yelled him so much that he had perfected the fine art of disapproving arguments. But right now, he just really wanted to get the changed the subject to something more agreeable with his sanity.

"Hmm? Oh, yea. Well, never mind your awesomeness now, we have people to find!" Hunter shoved a finger in the air and marched foreword, a sighing James trailing along behind her.

Gadget sat nervously between the two fuming girls. James and Hunter had gone off to look for Adian and James, and Sammy was on watch, leaving him stranded with the girls who looked angry enough to murder him if he made the slightest mistake.

Gadget sighed, wishing he were somewhere else, helping Hunter or watching the forest with Sammy. He really, really, _really _did not want to be there when Shade or Sky snapped and took out their anger on the closest punching bag. (And that happened to be him.)

"You got a problem, blonde?" Shade snarled, making Gadget flinch slightly. "Who, me?" Gadget pointed at himself. "No, no! Why would I have a problem?"

"You're over here sighing like you have something to be upset about right now," Sky spat, glaring to him.

"Oh, I have nothing to be upset about!" Gadget replied, internally adding, '_Only the fact that my sister is dead and I'm stuck babysitting you brats…'_ Of course, he didn't say that out loud, for he valued his life.

"You better not, blonde."

"Can you stop calling me blonde?"

"Why should I, _blonde?_"

"Because it is really annoying and also makes you sound stupid."

"Shut up, blonde!"

"Like, really, really stupid."

"I said, _shut up, blonde!"_

"Hey, just call it as I see it~"

"You little brat-"

"Oh, that's even worse…"

"Brat!"

"Come on, I know you aren't really that lame!"

Ok, so maybe he didn't value his life as much as he thought….

"Come over here so I can _kill you!_"

"If you're going to kill me, why would you announce it?"

"MORON!"

Not far away, Sammy chuckled at the resounding shout, as he sat perched in a tree.

He looked down once again, a small smile on his face that soon slipped away as he saw a mild shaking in the trees. Suddenly, Hunter appeared with James on her back. In any other situation, this might have been funny, but there was nothing amusing in their, grim, pale faces.

"What happened?" Sammy asked, his voice a little scratchy.

James simply opened his palm.

%^%^

Gadget had been happily evading Shade's attacks, when Sammy, Hunter, and James all landed next to him, causing his to jump at least ten feet into the air. He turned to greet them, but the words died in his mouth, as well as any good feelings he had harbored before.

Sammy, Hunter, and James's faces were all drawn and Hunter looked close to tears.

"What did you find?" He whispered.

There was a muffled sob from Hunter as James once more opened him hand, reviling a mutated lump of bloodied silver metal and a leaf die red.

"It's Blizzard… and that's my brothers blood."

**Ok, done! Not much of a cliffhanger, as you already know what happened to them… maybe I should have posted this one first… oh well! You live and you learn! I hope you liked it!**

**Ok, reviews!**

**darkwolf19- Umm, sweetie, you are going to have to be a little clearer in what you are trying to ask! I have no idea what you are saying, sorry…**

**Guest- I guess it really is~ I'm glad you are enjoying, hope you liked this chapter!**

**That little button down there wants to be molested~ Go ahead, press it!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Annnnd, I'm back, losers!**

**I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG! I have no excuse… I was just lazy.**

**Ok, little bit of time setting. The last chapter took place during the time Adian and Vector were in the rooms and stuff. This chapter is caught up with the present, placed right after chapter 19.**

**Reviews are once again at the bottom, and please enjoy the newest installment of **_**Kitsune!**_

Gadget looked down at the blood on the forest floor and was once again struck by the thorns of worry and slight guilt. He was a light sleeper, and he had heard rustles of leaves being misplaced during the night, but he had brushed it off as nothing. Had he woken up, they might not be in this predicament.

The predicament being following the trail of blood their injured friends had left behind.

Gadget remembered the rather strangled cry that Sky had uttered when she found it. He remembered the angered yell that had come from Hunter's mouth. He remembered being grabbed by Sammy and drug along as they had charged into the forest, following the death trail.

He signed and wondered how long they had been walking.

It couldn't have been too long, but when he looked up, the sun had moved from its place high in the sky, to dipping down below the tops of the trees in shame. Gadget could see a ghostly outline of the moon, rising up to fill in what its brother had left behind.

Beside him, Sammy let out a long suffering sigh and rubbed his hand up and down his arms. "It's getting could out here…" He muttered. Gadget took one of Sammy's hands and clasped it tight between his, warming it up at best he could. Sammy smiled lightly, pink dusting his cheekbones and squeezed Gadget's own hand slightly.

While Gadget and Sammy shared a moment, Shade's mind was a hurricane of panic, scorn, and anger. Panic at knowledge that Vector and Adian could be somewhere, bleeding out, scorn at Sky for being such a useless twit, and anger at James for stopping her from pummeling said twit's face in. In Shade's not so humble opinion, Sky deserved to have some sense beaten into her. If Shade were by herself, she bet that she could have found them already.

Hunter pressed a warning hand to her shoulder.

She suddenly realized that her face had pulled into a wolfish snarl, ears pressed flat against her head and tail bristling.

She relaxed her pose, and Hunter moved away, shooting a sharp glance on her way.

Sky was pissed.

She wasn't sure what had warranted her the irate glares Shade keep giving out of the corner of her eye. Every time Sky caught her in the act, Shade glanced away quickly, acting like she wasn't doing anything.

And Sky had just about enough.

Just as she was about to spin around to confront Shade, a flash of something that was definitely un-forest-y.

She glanced around and her eyes finally settled on a piece of orange clothe hanging on a low-hanging branch. She gulped, hoping against hope it wasn't what she thought it was.

Unfortunately, luck wasn't on her side. She lifted the torn fabric from the branch and held it out to Shade. Shade, forgetting her anger for a moment, ripped it from Sky's grasp and took a deep sniff. "It's Adian's shirt," She confirmed.

Hunter growled deep within her throat and quickened her pace until she was flat out sprinting, the others hot on her heels.

They continued like this until they ran into trouble. Literally. Sammy, in a burst of speed, had sprinted out in front and smashed into the monster.

Needless to say, it didn't take kindly to that.

The demon rose to its full height, the legs were that of some sort of horse/dog mix, having cloven hooves, but the sleek fur of a greyhound, and its face was a horrible mix of human and goat, punctuated with deep scars and boils. It beat its bare chest with the flat of its axe and bellowed, spittle flying everywhere.

Gadget, covered head to toe in saliva, screamed, "WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" and proceeded to force the monster to chop off its limbs with its own weapon, laughing all the way.

"DIE, MONSTER! DIIIIE!"

"Remind me to never get on this kids bad side…" Hunter whispered to James, who simply nodded, stunned out of speech.

Soon the demon was nothing but a pile of little bits of meat, and Gadget slipped his remote back into his pocket, and spun around on his heel, the spit on his body mixing with the darker blood.

"Alright, lets go."

The group nodded mutely and followed.

"I bet I could have done that faster…" Shade grumbled, crossing her arms tightly.

"Then why didn't you?" Sky remarked snidely, have heard the comment.

"Guys, lets not start this again!" Hunter snapped, acquainting her forehead with her palm.

The continued, as though she hadn't spoken.

"Why didn't you help, feathers?"

"Because I didn't have time to move!"

"Really? What happened to those 'amazing reflexes' you were bragging about?"

"I have never bragged about my reflexes, you _absolute pancake!"_

"Wow, you really need to work on your come backs, feathers~"

"You shouldn't talk, bitch!"

"Shut up!"

"Why should I?!"

"You're just a useless bird brain!"

"_Me?!_ _You're _the one who didn't do anything when Adian and Vector disappeared! I'm sure you heard them being taken, you are a light sleeper, after all."

"I was passed out from the amount of power I used! I couldn't have heard anything!"

"Oh, _sure _you didn't! I bet you were too lazy to help!"

Shade let out an angered scream and lunged forward, claws extended. Sky held out her hand and her bronze staff appeared in a flash of gold light, the three blades on the end sharpened and the orb floating in the middle glowing white with power.

Sky swept the staff in front of her, and a strong gust of wind caught Shade in the chest, knocking her off balance. But Shade twisted so that she landed on her feet and she shot forward again, lashing out with her sharpened nails, leaving a deep gash in the tree behind Sky, as she had flow up at the last second.

James, who had been watching in horrified silence, snapped out of it as Shade drew her kantana.

"Hunter, Gadget, Sammy! We have to stop them before they hurt each other!"

The nodded and when to grab the feuding duo.

$%$%$

Shade stood at the edge of the clearing, moonlight casting its pale glow on her friends.

"I'm going to find him on my own," She whispered. "I don't need any help."

And she disappeared into the night.

"Shade's gone now too!" Hunter wailed, pulling at her long hair.

"I can still see tracts," Sammy replied evenly. "I'll go find her, you four keep looking for Adian and Vector."

Gadget nodded solemnly, before walking up to Sammy. He looked directly into Sammy's eyes, and just when everyone thought he was going to say something cryptic and motivational, Gadget drew back his hand and punched Sammy square in the gut.

Sammy doubled over, wheezing, and Hunter cracked up.

"You don't came back, I'll find you, and you'll get something 100x worse than that," Gadget said smartly.

Sammy gave him a thumbs up, to out of breathe to speak.

%^%^%

Not long after Sammy had embarked on his mini-quest, James, Hunter, Sky, and Gadget came across a stonewall.

But that wasn't what made James scream.

It was the words scrawled across, written in something that looked disturbingly like blood.

_YOU HAVE 3 DAYS_

**All right, done!**

**Frist, reviews-**

**Wolf- I have no idea. Maybe it would be a draw? Anyway, I'm really happy you are enjoying this story, and I hope you liked this chapter!**

**Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!**


	22. Hook, Line, and Sinker

**Hey, yous guyses! What is up? I am back, baby, and completely fresh out of ideas! If you lovely people have any helpful suggestions of what **_**you **_**want to see happen next, please leave it in the comments below!**

**I have been wondering if I should switch back to Adian and Vector's POV, or if I should stay with the rest of the group. Maybe just let Sammy have a chapter for himself on his little mini-quest~**

**Also, if you don't want to leave a plot line, you could just leave a starting sentence, a beginning line, a hook, line, and sinker! Ok, that was stupid. Oh, well! But, really, if you just want to leave a beginner sentence, that would be extremely helpful, and I could build off of it. You would get complete credit, of course!**

**However, if you don't leave any of these, just constructive criticism would be really nice. I don't want only comments like, 'Wow! This story is amazing!', even though those are very uplifting and I am really glad to hear people are enjoying it. But, it really doesn't help me become a better writer, and that's my main focus here. I may only be 13, but I have big dreams for the future!**

**Ok, if you read all the way to the bottom, thank you! Here, have some virtual pie!**

**Now, go and review, review, review!**


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